tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post5350783389333826009..comments2023-05-31T06:18:57.483-04:00Comments on U2 Sermons: I'd break bread and wine, but far less often than honeyU2 Sermonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175811025898393942noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post-46633366467587200732010-03-04T12:48:36.565-05:002010-03-04T12:48:36.565-05:00If you'll accept toast as bread, then there...If you'll accept toast as bread, then there's this reference to bread in "Winter": "We're like butter on toast.calhounsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post-46645421286762001432010-02-28T09:54:45.204-05:002010-02-28T09:54:45.204-05:00I'm sure scholars have studied this issue more...I'm sure scholars have studied this issue more closely than I have, but it does seem to me that the "bread=food" assumption in the Bible goes beyond a translation issue. In the NRSV's John 6, as you mentioned, we start out with literal bread (miracle of the loaves and fishes), move on to "bread from heaven" (manna, which only vaguely resembled bread), and wind up with Jesus declaring himself the "bread of life." The importance of bread here seems to be in its quality as basic sustenance, rather than its breadiness. Unlike, say, the honey metaphors, which call on its deliciousness.<br /><br />I don't know if that has anything to do with why Bono doesn't write about it, but he does generally avoid pinning his Bible refs to an ANE context. For instance (and speaking of food passages), while he likes to refer to the Revelation line about the stars falling from the sky, I've never heard him quote the full metaphor: "... the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its fruit when shaken by a gale."Camassiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09183087564923218343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post-57316966104145274852010-02-28T08:44:03.762-05:002010-02-28T08:44:03.762-05:00What an interesting post! I never would have thou...What an interesting post! I never would have thought about why honey might be interesting. But as a word used in a song, it has great connotations: sticky, sweet, drippy, thick, natural, odd (is this the only food we consume that comes from flower nectar and is secreted by bees???) and a euphemism for people we love. As food lyrics go, it is even sensual...which helps to tell a story (and sell the songs).Big Clydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11139621880727963169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post-57156653932221117742010-02-27T17:45:41.573-05:002010-02-27T17:45:41.573-05:00I did try to correct for metaphorical use of bread...I did try to correct for metaphorical use of bread to mean "food" by searching a modern translation, but I'm sure several instances still made it in there. LOL at the potato comment, though. Your note about the sensory aspect is very intereting.U2 Sermonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07175811025898393942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post-20170301857105882292010-02-27T15:22:29.614-05:002010-02-27T15:22:29.614-05:00A few thoughts. One, "bread" turns up so...A few thoughts. One, "bread" turns up so much in the Bible because it's also a generic term for "food," and we don't really use the word that way any more. Also, food was a more general preoccupation at a time and place when there was a real risk of starvation. The foods in U2 lyrics definitely have an aura of post-industrial decadence to them (all that booze and sweet stuff!).<br /><br />Another factor may be that bread is just boring. Looking over the list, I see all the foods mentioned evoke a pretty strong sensory reaction, whether in taste, fragrance, color or a combination of the above. You don't add much vividness to your lyrics by mentioning bread. (I don't remember them every mentioning potatoes either, Irish though they may be...)Camassiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09183087564923218343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post-21342847915325394692010-02-26T22:07:31.959-05:002010-02-26T22:07:31.959-05:00...Yeah, I'm not gonna comment on that one!...Yeah, I'm not gonna comment on that one!Angelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974895195130406729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post-68031385094819211492010-02-26T17:39:59.127-05:002010-02-26T17:39:59.127-05:00I was going to say "wouldn't that apply t...I was going to say "wouldn't that apply to bread *and* wine?" but perhaps not; wine is a broader metaphor. Altho, I don't know, you could say that bread is as well - by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread, etc.<br /><br />However, now that I look back at the @U2 list, I note that in general there's a preponderance of liquids.... :DU2 Sermonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07175811025898393942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375166.post-30378591147203958582010-02-26T14:49:57.934-05:002010-02-26T14:49:57.934-05:00Just a guess, but might it be the "I'm co...Just a guess, but might it be the "I'm comfortable/uncomfortable inside any church" confession of the chief lyricist? Bread is symbolic of communal gathering, and the protagonist of U2 songs is so often a wanderer, an outsider looking in.Angelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974895195130406729noreply@blogger.com