Miss Sarajevo
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| "Miss Sarajevo" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by U2 (Passengers) | ||
| from the album Original Soundtracks 1 | ||
| Released | November 1995 | |
| Format | CD single | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 5 m 19 s | |
| Label | Island | |
| Producer(s) | Brian Eno | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| U2 (Passengers) singles chronology | ||
| Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (1995) |
Miss Sarajevo (1995) |
Discothèque (1997) |
| Original Soundtracks 1 track listing | ||
| "Beach Sequence" (6) |
"Miss Sarajevo" (7) |
"Ito Okashi" (8) |
| The Best of 1990-2000 track listing | ||
| "One" (5) |
"Miss Sarajevo" (6) |
"Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" (7) |
"Miss Sarajevo" is the only single from Passengers' 1995 album, Original Soundtracks No. 1. Luciano Pavarotti makes a guest vocal appearance, singing the opera solo. It also appears on U2's The Best of 1990-2000 and on George Michael's Songs from the Last Century.
Contents |
[edit] History
It was a soundtrack for a documentary of the same name by Bill Carter, who was working for an aid agency during the Bosnian War. The song describes a Beauty Pageant which happens in the midst of war. It is about trying to lead "normal lives" in the midst of war.
From the album's liner notes: Bill Carter's award-winning documentary Miss Sarajevo chronicles one of the more bizarre events of the war in former Yugoslavia--when several artists mounted an elaborate beauty contest under mortar fire. The camera follows the organizers through the tunnels and cellars of the city, giving a unique insight into life during a modern war, where civilians are the targets. The film captures the dark humour of the besieged Sarajevans, their stubborn refusal to be demoralised, and suggests that surrealism and dadaism are the appropriate responses to fanaticism.
Until recently it was only played live twice, once in Italy with Pavarotti for the charity War Child, and once in U2's famous Sarajevo concert in the Popmart Tour with Brian Eno. Bono who lost his voice during the concert after the performance said "Sarajevo, this song was written for you. I hope you like it, because we can't fucking play it.". It made a comeback in the Vertigo Tour in 2005 where Bono sings Pavarotti's Italian vocal parts.
[edit] Track Listing
[edit] Version 1
- "Miss Sarajevo" (Single Version) (5:19)
- "One" (Live from Modena, September 12, 1995) (5:32)
- "Bottoms" (Watashitachi No Ookina Yume) (Zoo Station Remix) (4:11)
- "Viva Davidoff" (4:29)
This was the more common CD version. The 7" and cassette singles had just "One" as the B-side.
[edit] B-Sides
The "Miss Sarajevo" single was backed with the following B-Sides:
[edit] One
This is a performance from the "Pavarotti and Friends" concert held in Modena, Italy, featuring some of the original Passengers (namely, Bono, The Edge, Brian Eno and Pavarotti himself). It is different from the original version in that it was backed with an orchestra for this performance.
[edit] Bottoms (Watashitachi no Ookina Yume) (Zoo Station Remix)
Despite the strange name (the Japanese subtitle of which translates as "our big dream") this was just an instrumental version of "Zoo Station" from the Achtung Baby album, hence the "Zoo Station Remix" denomination.
[edit] Viva Davidoff
This is an Eno-like atmospheric instrumental track, much like the Original Soundtracks 1 song "Theme From the Swan", and widely regarded as being one of the Passengers (and U2's) poorest efforts. The song title is an exultation to a brand of cigarettes.
[edit] Alternate Versions
There are five different versions of this song available:
- The album version, on the Original Soundtracks 1 album.
- The "single edit", about 20 seconds shorter, on the single.
- The "radio edit", which is more than a minute shorter than the album version, appears on the Best of 1990-2000 compilation.
- The live version from the "Pavarotti and Friends" concert, appears on the Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Bosnia album.
- Another live performance, this time from Milan in 2005 (with Bono singing Pavarotti's part). This version is featured on the "All Because of You" single, in the U2.Communication, and on the bonus live DVD of U218 Singles.
[edit] Video
The music video for this song, directed by Maurice Linnane, is a montage of three different events: the beauty contest described in the song, the original performance from the "Pavarotti and Friends" concert, and a tour through the streets of war-torn Sarajevo, under gunfire from the nearby troops.
An other version of this video exists, featuring only the footage from the Modena concert.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Discography entry at U2 Wanderer--Comprehensive details on various editions, cover scans, lyrics, and more.
- Videography entry at U2tours.de--Has some screen captures of the video. Written in German.
