Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
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| “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” | |||||
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| Single by U2 from the album Zooropa |
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| Released | November 22/23, 1993 | ||||
| Format | CD, cassette, 7" | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 4:58 | ||||
| Label | Island | ||||
| Producer | Flood, Brian Eno and The Edge | ||||
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| Live format | |||||
| Zooropa track listing | |||||
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| The Best of 1990-2000 track listing | |||||
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"Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" is the fifth track from U2's 1993 album, Zooropa, and was released as the album's third single on November 22, 1993. It achieved notable success in the UK, where it reached #4, but had a very short chart run, and also Australia, where it reached #5.
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[edit] History
The song was inspired by Frank Sinatra's music - its working title while still in development was actually "Sinatra". [1] The single's B-side featured the song "I've Got You Under My Skin", as a duet between Bono and Sinatra, which was originally released on Sinatra's Duets album.
This song, in version with heavier guitar and drums, was released on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close!, along with an extended version of "The Wanderer". In a 2005 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bono cited "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" as one of his personal favorite U2 songs and perhaps their most underrated.
The music video for the song, directed by Wenders and Mark Neale[2], features the Statue of Victoria, the golden monument that sits atop the Berlin Victory Column, and is heavily based on the film from which it takes its name, as it includes images taken directly from the film (some just recreated) and shows angels falling to Earth. Meret Becker, stepdaughter of the movie's lead Otto Sander, portrays the female singer.
Although not a regular, "Stay" has made cameos in some of U2's most recent tours. Most notably of these is their 2001 Elevation Tour, in which the song was a common addition to the main setlist. Bono and The Edge would take to the catwalks and perform an acoustic version of the song, although on some notable occasions, Larry and Adam would join in and the band would play the song as it was first heard of their Zooropa album.
The song is featured on the band's concert video releases Zoo TV: Live from Sydney and Elevation 2001: Live from Boston.
[edit] Track listings
[edit] Version 1
- "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" – 4:58
- "I've Got You Under My Skin" – 3:32
CD and cassette release.
[edit] Version 2
- "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" – 4:58
- "I've Got You Under My Skin" – 3:32
- "Lemon" (Bad Yard Club Edit) – 5:19
- "Lemon" (The Perfecto Mix) – 8:57
Labeled "The Swing Format," this was the first CD version.
[edit] Version 3
- "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" – 4:58
- "Slow Dancing" – 3:20
- "Bullet the Blue Sky" (Live from Dublin, August 28, 1993) – 5:32
- "Love Is Blindness" (Live from New York, August 30, 1992) – 5:58
Labeled "The Live Format," this was the second CD release.
[edit] Version 4
- "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" – 4:58
- "I've Got You Under My Skin" – 3:32
- "Slow Dancing" – 3:20
- "Bullet the Blue Sky" – Live from Dublin, August 28, 1993) – 5:32
- "Love is Blindness" – Live from New York, August 30, 1992) – 5:58
- "Lemon" (Bad Yard Club Edit) – 5:19
American CD release.
[edit] B-Sides
[edit] I've Got You Under My Skin
"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song originally by Cole Porter in 1936. It was covered by Frank Sinatra in 1956, and he re-recorded the song as a duet with Bono for his 1993 album, Duets. This version was then included as a B-side for the "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" single.
[edit] Slow Dancing
The song "Slow Dancing" was originally a B-Side to the 1993 single "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)", with a run-time of 3:20.[3] It is an acoustic song, and only Bono and The Edge perform on this track.
Despite its first studio recording taking place in 1993, "Slow Dancing" debuted in concert on December 1st, 1989 at Osaka, Japan on the 1st leg of the Lovetown Tour, almost four years before it was released.[4] The first known performance of the song was on October 21, 1989 on The Midnight Show, a late-night radio show run on the channel Triple M,[5] although the song was not performed in its entirety. The song has been played on every tour since its introduction except for the Vertigo Tour[6]
The song was also released as a B-side to U2's 1997 single If God Will Send His Angels. This version featured Willie Nelson, and had a run-time of 4:00.[7]
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" | Australian Singles Chart | #5 |
| 1993 | "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" | UK Singles Chart | #4 |
| 1993 | "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" | US Billboard Hot 100 | #61 |
| 1993 | "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" | US Modern Rock Tracks | #15 |
| 1993 | "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | #12 |
[edit] Covers
- The song has been covered by Craig Armstrong on his album As If to Nothing. Bono performed the vocals on that version.
- A version of the song by Al Hirt appears on the Brit Awards 1994 album.
- An acoustic version of the song was covered by The Smashing Pumpkins at the 1999 Bridge School Benefit.
- Flyleaf has also done an acoustic version of the song.
[edit] References
- ^ U2 - R1 Bono Exclusive Interview December 12th, 2006 ((C)BBC 2006) (Interview by Jo Whiley)
- ^ FASTER
- ^ U2wanderer.org, "Slow Dancing" on the "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" single
- ^ U2-vertigo-tour.com, 1989-12-01, Osaka, Japan setlist
- ^ U2-vertigo-tour.com First performance of "Slow Dancing"
- ^ U2-vertigo-tour.com Every performance of "Slow Dancing"
- ^ U2wanderer.org, "Slow Dancing" on the "If God Will Send His Angels" single
