Lemon (song)

"Lemon"
Single by U2
from the album Zooropa
Released September 1993
Format 12-inch, CD, cassette
Recorded 1993
Genre Alternative rock, disco
Length 4:39 (edit)
6:58 (album version)
Label Island
Producer Flood, Brian Eno and The Edge
U2 singles chronology
"Numb"
(1993)		 "Lemon"
(1993)		 "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"
(1993)
Music video
"Lemon" at Yahoo! Music
Music sample
"Lemon"

"Lemon" is the fourth song and second single from U2's 1993 album, Zooropa. Inspired by old video footage of Bono's late mother, the lyrics describe an attempt to preserve memory through film. More than any previous U2 song, "Lemon" showcases Bono's falsetto skills, aided by atmospheric vocals from The Edge and Brian Eno. The song has been described as futuristic German disco.[1]

Contents

Recording and composition

"Lemon" was written late during the Zooropa sessions between March-May 1993 during the band's break in the Zoo TV Tour.[2] Guitarist The Edge said the song originated from something he "worked up with a drum machine and bass, very rhythmic." He explained that he found it difficult to compose a guitar part to the song until he utilized an "unusual gated guitar effect which worked with the rhythm."[2]

Lead vocalist Bono wrote the lyrics with his late mother in mind. He explains that it was a "strange experience to receive, in the post, from a very distant relative, early Super 8 footage of my mother, aged 24, younger than me, playing a game of rounders in slow motion."[2] The footage showed Bono's mother at a wedding as the maid of honour, wearing a lemon-coloured dress.[2] The film footage inspired Bono to write lyrics about using film to recreate and preserve memory.

Remixes and alternate versions

The single and promo releases were complete with different dance remixes, as well as a shortened edit of the title track (the album version was almost 7 minutes long).

Paul Oakenfold's "Perfecto Mix" of the song was used on the PopMart Tour, being played as the band walked out of their Spinal Tap-like rock prop, a 40-foot mirrorball lemon, onto the B-stage for an encore.

Live performances

The song was played live at 10 different Zoo TV shows in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, during the show's encore. During each performance, Bono would perform the song dressed as Zoo TV character "MacPhisto," a former cabaret performer with devilish horns. Each performance was immediately followed by the band's "With or Without You".[3]

Music video

The music video for "Lemon", directed by Mark Neale, was filmed in black and white with a grid-like background as a tribute to Eadweard Muybridge.[4] Muybridge was a photographer who was the first person to successfully capture fast motion on film, using his device, coincidentally named the Zoopraxiscope, a reference to the lyrics ("A man makes a picture - a moving picture/Through light projected he can see himself up close"). The video primarily features a sequence of clips of the band members playing their instruments and performing a series of distinct actions, with captions for each one (e.g. "man walking up incline", "man running", "man playing pool"). In the background of the video, a pendulum can be seen swinging, a clock can be seen ticking, as well as dollars falling from the sky, various scientific objects (DNA, Satellite feeds, etc.), and a cross. All of these symbols seem to be representing man's attempt to preserve time, via money ("He turns his money into light to look for her"), religion, or technology. The video also featured Bono dressed as both "The Fly" and "MacPhisto".

Track listings

12-inch single

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "Lemon" (Bad Yard Club) 10:13
2. "Lemon" (Version Dub) 6:35
3. "Lemon" (Momo's Reprise) 4:08
Side B
No. Title Length
1. "Lemon" (Perfecto Mix) 8:56
2. "Lemon" (Jeep Mix) 5:30

CD and cassette single

No. Title Length
1. "Lemon" (edit) 4:39
2. "Lemon" (Oakenfold Jeep Mix) 5:30
3. "Lemon" (album version) 6:56
4. "Lemon" (Morales BYC Version Dub) 6:35

Chart positions

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Chart[5] 6
Canada RPM Top 100[6] 20
New Zealand Singles Chart[5] 4
US Modern Rock Tracks 3
US Hot Dance Music/Club Play 1
US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 16
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Canada RPM Dance Top 10[7] 3

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Review". http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Zooropa/U2/e/731451804724. Retrieved 2008-08-15. 
  2. ^ a b c d McCormick (2006), p. 248.
  3. ^ "U2 Melbourne, 1993-11-12, Cricket Ground, ZOO TV Tour - U2 on tour". http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/show889.html. Retrieved 2006-12-20. 
  4. ^ "U2faqs.com - Videography FAQ". http://u2faqs.com/videography/#9. Retrieved 2006-12-20. 
  5. ^ a b "U2 – Lemon". Hung Median. http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=U2&titel=Lemon&cat=s. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
  6. ^ "Search Results: Lemon U2". RPM. 1993-11-20. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=23advloie1aukvqgeouj93l050&q1=%22Lemon%22+U2. Retrieved 2009-11-25. 
  7. ^ "Search Results: Lemon U2". RPM. 1994-02-07. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=23advloie1aukvqgeouj93l050&q1=%22Lemon%22+U2. Retrieved 2009-11-25. 

References

Preceded by
"The Program" by David Morales and the Bad Yard Club		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
December 11, 1993		 Succeeded by
"Go West" by Pet Shop Boys
Zooropa track listing

"Zooropa" · "Babyface" · "Numb" · "Lemon" · "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" · "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car" · "Some Days Are Better Than Others" · "The First Time" · "Dirty Day" · "The Wanderer"
U2 singles discography
1980s
1990s

1991: "The Fly" • "Mysterious Ways" • 1992: "One" • "Even Better Than the Real Thing" • "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" • 1993: "Numb" • "Lemon" • "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" • 1995: "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" • "Miss Sarajevo" (as Passengers) • 1997: "Discothèque" • "Staring at the Sun" • "Last Night on Earth" • "Please" • "If God Will Send His Angels" • "Mofo" • 1998: "Sweetest Thing"
2000s