Rejoice

U2 LYRICS

Just tell me what am I supposed to say?

I thought I would a more steady progress through this U2 blog adventure but another week has flown by without an entry.  The quoted lyrics of this song seem quite appropriate.

This is another one of those songs that (after closer inspection) I have no idea what it is about.  The title would suggest that it is a happy song.  The rest of the song’s lyrics though tell a different story.  There is a line in the chorus that says…

I can't change the world but I can change the world in me.

This line follows the lyric at the top of this blog entry.  I had been thinking that changing the world in yourself was a good thing, a suggestion by Bono.  Now though, in context, it seems that he is asking if this is what he should say.  It seems that this line is meant to point out how naive the concept of this is.  Given all that Bono has tried to do in the world, changing the world in yourself seems to fall way short of what our goal should be.  I have no idea why we are told to rejoice then.  Oh well, I still like the song.

Reflecting on this thought, what can I do to change my world?  I have heard another saying that goes something like this, “You cannot change the world but you can change the world of another person.”  This is why I support a child through Compassion International.  I have done this since I was 16 (and had enough money for the monthly cost of supporting one child).  Doing the math, I have supported a child for 25 years now (not the same child of course).  The current child that I support is named Ester. She is 10 years old and lives in Honduras.  My sponsorship changes her world and for that I rejoice.

Jon