Album: Zooropa (1993)

License This Song 

• You're a precious stone
  You're out on your own
  You know everyone in the world
  But you feel alone
  Daddy won't let you weep
  Daddy won't let you ache
  Daddy gives you as much as you can take
  A-ha sha-la, a-ha sha-la
  Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
  
  A little uptight
  You're a baby's fist
  Butterfly kisses up and down your wrist
  When you see daddy coming
  You're licking your lip
  Nails bitten down to the quick
  A-ha sha-la, a-ha sha-la
  Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
  Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
  
  You've got a head full of traffic
  You're a siren's song
  You cry for mama
  And daddy's right along
  He gives you the keys to a flamin' car
  Daddy's with you wherever you are
  Daddy's a comfort
  Daddy's your best friend
  Daddy'll hold your hand right up to the end
  A-ha sha-la, a-ha sha-la
  Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
  Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
  
  Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday's
  Alright Writer/s: ADAM CLAYTON, DAVE EVANS, LARRY MULLEN, PAUL HEWSON
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

• Greg from Harrington Park, NjI had read where Bono stated in Rolling Stone that it is about God saving us from evils in the world - Heroin is one of the evils represented in the lyrics.
• Brendan from Dublin, Irelandi think its about depression. the daddy is a metaphor for depression ''daddy gives you as much as you can take'' or ''daddy gives you keys to a flaming car'' meaning your going on a journey to hell,flaming meaning the fiery depths of hell. daddy really is a metaphor for your mind ''daddy'll hold your hand right up to the end'' meaning your sanity and mind is with you til death and the butterfly kisses line represents wrist slitting,if you look at a butterfly's body its a straight line,so like the lines on your wrists from slitting,i think that daddys gonna pay for your crashed car means daddy or depression will explain why you crashed your car,daddy can represent alot such as suicide sanity etc,i think all the interpretations are really intelligent and this is just mine,the daddys girl one did make sense because at that time i believe U2 were hanging out with alot of supermodels and adam clayton was dating naomi campbell
• Rob from Los Angeles, CaI heard Bono say that this was the ultimate blues tune, saying that it's a metaphor of God (Jesus), saving us all from our sins. Grace, providence, faith, hope, love...whatever you call it, it's all from big daddy!
• Shehryar from Islamabad, Pakistani personally think it might be about the kind of people U2 had been incresingly exposed to over the ZOOTV tour... 'you know everyone in the world... but you feel alone'... pop stars and paris hiltons, people whose 'daddies' (management, parents, whatever) always promise to keep them in the game... thats why they pay for the crashed cars... the non-stop party...
• Ratboy from Ratville, NjI read somewhere it was about "the dark world of smack addiction", but I don't know if it was accurate.
• Ale from Necochea, Argentina"About a woman spoiled by a man who gives her anything." <------ BOF!!! It's fairly possible to say it's about Russia!!! Mother is the so called "mother Russia". Daddy is Lenin, the "allmighty" government of comunism. And Russia's people are the "precious stone".
  It gets preety close to that if you get the lyrics as a sarcastic critic of whatever happend to comunism in Russia. DADDY is the big brother, the government, the "state".... (i don't think i'm too crazy).
  
  SALUT!!
  

More Songfacts:

Maggie MayRod Stewart

Rod Stewart wrote "Maggie May" about the woman who deflowered him when he was 16.

Suck It and SeeArctic Monkeys

The Arctic Monkeys 2011 song "Suck It and See" is titled after a British saying meaning you should try something to see if you like it.

CriminalFiona Apple

"Criminal" is Fiona Apple's only chart hit. Royalties from it allow her to make music on her terms, releasing albums several years apart.

Hot For TeacherVan Halen

The voice of Waldo in Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" video was the late Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live Fame.

Right Here, Right NowJesus Jones

The Jesus Jones song "Right Here, Right Now" was conceived as an optimistic version of Prince's "Sign O' The Times."

There Are Too Many of UsBlur

Blur's "There Are Too Many of Us" was inspired in part by a siege in an Australian chocolate café that Damon Albarn witnessed, which resulted in the death of the gunman and two hostages.

Editor's Picks

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Tom Waits Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Daniel LanoisSongwriter Interviews

Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.