Song 14 "The Hands That Built America"

U2 wrote this song for the movie Gangs of New York.


When it was written.
2002.

What it is about.
As the title suggests, it is about the people that built America. What changed out country and still does today. It makes the point that America wasnt built by Americans, but by everyone. It is an extremely diverse culture buily by many different nationalities, cultures, and religions.

How the story is told.
The story is told like he has lived through it all, looking back on his life and the life of America. He makes references to some historical events like "It's early fall, there's a cloud on the New York skyline. Innocence, dragged across a yellow line." That being a refernce to 911.

My thoughts.
My immediate thoughts were that it was a sad song. It does seem really melancholy. But it really isn't. It is simply very reflective. I like how the names of all of the nationalities were whispered in the chorus, almost too quiet to notice. But it emphasizes the fact that America was built from hundreds of different kinds of "hands".

What we can learn.

We can learn that all the hardships that America had gone through have brought all of these diverse cultures together to form America.