Song For Someone

Bono most likely had in mind his teenage sweetheart-turned-long-standing wife Ali Hewson when he penned this tender song of awkward first love. The pair started dating in 1976, right around the time U2 was formed. I was told that I would feel Nothing the first time I don't know how these cuts heal But in you I found a rhyme Speaking to Dave Fanning during a RTE two hour Songs of Innocence special, Bono explained the album is "all about first journeys." He added that this song "is about the awkwardness of falling in love and sex."

The song is one of four tracks on Songs of Innocence that was co-produced by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, best known for working with pop artists like Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson and Beyoncé. OneRepublic opened for U2 on their 360 Tour dates during the summer of 2010. Asked by Q magazine why the band recruited Tedder, Bono explained that he was brought in for his gift for melody. The U2 frontman said: "The popsters are beating the others on melody. Not in lyrics, not in their aesthetic, but they're writing better tunes. That was not the case with The Beatles and the Stones. The Beatles were writing better tunes than the popsters and not compromising on their lyrics and their aesthetic." "When Brian Burton [Danger Mouse] ran out of time to work with us – and he's by far the biggest presence on the album as a producer – we got to work with Paul Epworth, we got to work with Ryan Tedder," he added. "Their only interest is in melody that you haven't heard before and the uniqueness of it. So that changed the game for us."

The nine-minute short film for this song stars actor Woody Harrelson portraying a man being released from prison. The visual was directed by Vincent Haycock who has previously shot shorts for Paul McCartney ("Early Days") and Lana Del Rey ("West Coast") and also stars Harrelson's daughter Zoe Harrelson. The clip is thematically linked to the Sundance TV series Rectify, which follows the story of Daniel Holden after his release from 19 years on death row.