In the howlin' wind
Comes a stingin' rain
See it drivin' nails
Into the souls on the tree of pain.
From the firefly
A red orange glow
See the face of fear
Runnin' scared in the valley below.
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue.
In the locust wind
Comes a rattle and hum.
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome.
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire.
We see them burnin' crosses
See the flames, higher and higher.
Woh, woh, bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue.
Suit and tie comes up to me
His face red like a rose on a thorn bush
Like all the colours of a royal flush
And he's peelin' off those dollar bills
(Slappin' 'em down)
One hundred, two hundred.
And I can see those fighter planes
And I can see those fighter planes
Across the tin huts as children sleep
Through the alleys of a quiet city street.
Up the staircase to the first floor
We turn the key and slowly unlock the door
As a man breathes into his saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan.
Outside, is America
Outside, is America
America.
See across the field
See the sky ripped open
See the rain comin' through the gapin' wound
Howlin' the women and children
Who run into the arms
Of America.
Bullet the Blue Sky is one of the more political focussed songs from The Joshua Tree. The band have publicly talked about how the inspiration for the lyrics of this song came from Bono's trip to El Salvador during its civil war back 1986. The interview of Bono (see below) with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame talks about how his experiences of bombing raids in El Salvador were hard for him to understand and comprehend why this was a strategy which was supported by' Christians' in the US. It was sanctioned by 'religious people'. He was clear to state that he isn't a communist, and that the lyrics of the song are not trying to suggest whether the movement is wrong or right particularly, but more about how he had a problem with how the movement was dealt with and the fact that 'religious people' in the US were sanctioning and supporting the brutalisation of it (Stokes, 2005). The lyrics of the song questions the US government's policy at the time, with the suit and tie character in the lyrics referring to Ronald Reagan. Musically, the Edge's guitar solo is supposed to represent the dropping of bombs and the rage of war machines. The title of the song is a reference to the government fighter planes screaming overhead on a mission to quell an uprising somewhere in the hills (O'Hare, 2007).
"America seems to be everything that's great about the world, and everything that's terrible about the world all rolled into one. That's what 'Bullet the Blue Sky' is all about."
Bono, 1987
Bono explaining the landscape which inspired the lyrics for the song Bullet the Blue Sky in an interview with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.