Saturday 9: With or Without You

Hi, friends! This is one of those iconic songs from U2 that needs no blah-blah-blahging introduction from me this week, so I think I'm just going to jump right into it. To see other folks' entries or to submit your own, check out this link.

Saturday 9: With or Without You (1987) 
 Unfamiliar with this week's tune?

Hear it here.

 

1) "With or Without You" is about the pain of love. What song reminds you of an old romance? Is it about the joy of love or the pain?

This is "When I See You Smile" by Bad English, and is mostly about the joy of love for me, in that old romance, but there is a big of pain there, too. It was a good relationship until it ended.

2) U2 lead singer Bono has admitted that, when the group recorded this song in the 1980s, he was wrestling with his real-life commitment issues. He was trying to resolve the responsibilities of being a husband with the demands of his career. He worked it through, and decades later both his marriage and his career are still going strong. Do you feel you have been more successful in your personal or professional relationships?

I would have to say my personal relationships.

3) Bono credits his wife Ali with helping him through a tough period of writer's block, saying she put the pen in his hand each morning. What time of day finds you the most energized, productive or creative?

It used to be late night, dead of night, that was when I was most productive. But now that I'm ill and disabled, it has flipped. Anytime I'm awake and the sun is shining, that's typically when I'm most ready to go... Although I wouldn't say I have any go-go-go left anymore.

 

4) Bono likes to pedal around town when he's not onstage. What do you do for exercise?

I mean... I shrug my shoulders a lot.

 

5) Bono is U2's lead singer, backed by three very talented bandmates: The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr., and Adam Clayton. Bruce Springsteen is a big fan of U2's concert performances. If Saturday 9 were to bestow upon you a free ticket to any see any band or performer live, who would you choose?

I would choose Billie Eilish, yes please, and can I someone with me?

 

6) U2 got together 50 years ago, when they were school boys in Dublin. Have you ever visited Ireland? If not, would you like to go?

No, I have never been to Ireland, and heck yeah, I would love to go! You find one beautiful picture after another and try not to want to go!

 

7) In 1987, the year this song was popular, Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her most famous line was, "Snap out of it!" Without looking it up, can you name the movie that made her an Oscar winner?

Who could forget? Moonstruck! And I still haven't seen that movie!

 

8) Also in 1987, the first Starbucks opened. What's your standard Starbucks order?

I don't really have one now. This is just one of several boycott lists they're currently on, none of which are comprehensive, but it's the best, clearest graphic I could find. Another main reason they're being boycotted right now is because they support the Israeli genocide against Palestine.

 

9) Random question – Which self-help book would you be more likely to pick up, the one designed to improve your body or your mind?

I'd pick one for my mind. Maybe this one, since I didn't have the breakthrough that I had been raised in a cult and was still being influenced by it until 2018 - when I was 42! So it might be interesting to check out. 

All right, then. I've got a massive headache I've got to seek out help for, and then maybe some food, and then I've got some seeds to start indoors. Hopefully I'll be back to visit my fellow S9ers this evening!

                                                xoxo, m