Gloria (U2 song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

For other uses, see Gloria (song).

“Gloria”

UK cover

Single by U2
from the album October

Released

October 1981

Format

7" vinyl

Genre

Rock

Length

4:12

Label

CBS - CBS 1718

Island - WIP6733

Producer

Steve Lillywhite

U2 singles chronology

"Fire"
(1981)

"Gloria"
(1981)

"A Celebration"
(1982)

Alternate Covers

Netherlands cover

New Zealand cover

October track listing

"Gloria"
(1)

"I Fall Down"
(2)

Under a Blood Red Sky track listing

"Gloria"
(1)

"11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
(2)

"Gloria" is the opening track and second single from U2's 1981 album, October. It features a chorus in Latin, from the liturgical "Gloria in Excelsis Deo." It was one of their lowest-charting singles, peaking at #55 on the UK singles chart.

1 Lyrics
2 History
3 Music Video
4 Track listing
5 Chart positions
6 External links

[edit] Lyrics

The chorus "Gloria in te Domine / Gloria exultate" translates to "Glory in you, Lord / Glory, exalt [him]" with "exalt" in the imperative mood, a reference to Psalm 30:2 (in te Domine, speravi). The song also contains references to Colossians 2:9-10 ("Only in You I'm complete") and James 5:7-9 ("The door is open / You're standing there").

[edit] History

"Gloria" made its concert debut on 16 August 1981; the October album had not yet been finished and Bono announced it was "Gloria and Gloria". It was used as the opening song for almost all October Tour dates in 1981-82, but during the War Tour's "Pre Tour", it was moved to the end of the main set as "Out of Control" became the band's concert opener. At the start of the first proper leg of the War Tour, "Gloria" reverted to its position as opener, while on the second leg, it soon gave way again to "Out of Control" and became the final song of the main set, as filmed in Under a Blood Red Sky.

On the Unforgettable Fire Tour's first leg, "Gloria" and "Out of Control" rotated as concert openers. This was the last time "Gloria" was used as a concert opener - on subsequent legs of both the Unforgettable Fire Tour and the subsequent Joshua Tree Tour, it was used in the encore. As the Joshua Tree Tour progressed, the song appeared in the main set, and this move became permanent on the Lovetown Tour. Its last Lovetown performance was on 9 January 1990, and this was the last time U2 played the song - or any from the October album - until it returned to the setlist on 30 March 2005 at the second show of the Vertigo Tour. It was played occasionally on the Vertigo Tour's first leg, typically segueing into "The Ocean" from Boy. It then made one appearance on the second leg before a several more occasional appearances on the third leg until the final weeks, when it was played at six concerts in a row. It did not appear at any of the 21 Vertigo Tour concerts in 2006; its final performance was on 14 December 2005. "Gloria" has been played by U2 over 350 times.

[edit] Music Video

The "Gloria" video, written and directed by Meiert Avis, was filmed in October 1981 on a barge in Grand Canal Basin in Dublin, near Windmill Lane. "Gloria" was the first U2 music video that received heavy airplay on MTV. The video featured U2 playing on a barge while a crowd of onlookers danced. Neither the song or video has been included in any of the band's compilations.