Twilight (U2 song)

Song infobox
Name = Twilight


Type = Song
Artist = U2
alt Artist =
Album = Boy
Published =
Released = 20 October 1980
track_no = 2
Recorded =
Genre = Rock, post-punk
Length = 4:22
Writer =
Composer =
Label = Island Records
Producer = Steve Lillywhite
Background = #D8BFD8
Tracks =
prev = "I Will Follow"
prev_no = 1
next = "An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart"
next_no = 3 / 4

"Twilight" is the second track from U2's debut album, "Boy".

The track originally appeared on the "Another Day" single, but was polished up for the album. The b-side version was apparently cut in five minutes.cite web |url=http://u2_interviews.tripod.com/id14.html |title=Bono in San Antonio |publisher=U2 Magazine No. 3 |date=May 1, 1982 |accessdate=2007-11-06] The song was supposedly written about the grey area of adolescence where "In the shadows, boy meets man." "Twilight" never really found a set place in the band's setlist. It was played fairly often on the Boy, October, and War Tour. It was also played at the first few shows in U2's first visit to New Zealand and Australia in 1984 but it hasn't appeared in a live setting since then. It was last performed on 24 September 1984 in Perth, Australia. In a 1982 interview, Bono said of the song, "Live, the songs evolve; they're still evolving. In Dublin there's a record with an early version of 'Twilight' on the B-side—it's a demo version we cut in five minutes, literally—and the lyrics are totally different. If you put the two together they fit; one is the start and one is the finish. I switch lyrics, the band changes things - we go for a rawer, bigger sound."

"The old man tried to walk me home, I thought he should have known"

Much confusion arisen over the use of "old man" in "Twilight". In Dublin, the term "old man" was used in reference to one's father. However, many gays in the United States and Britain were becoming more aware of their identity at the time, and believed the song was written in regard to their position in the 70s within society.

References

External links

* [http://www.atu2.com/lyrics/lyrics.src?VID=2&SID=2 "Twilight" Lyrics]
* [http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/song212.html Twilight's performance history from U2-Vertigo-Tour.com] - Lists all known performances of "Twilight".