Every Breaking Wave
by U2

Album: Songs of Innocence (2014)
Play Video
  • Every breaking wave on the shore
    Tells the next one there'll be one more
    And every gambler knows that to lose
    Is what you're really there for

    Summer I was fearless
    Now I speak into an answer phone
    Like every fallen leaf on the breeze
    Winter wouldn't leave it alone
    Alone

    If you go
    If you go your way and I go mine
    Are we so
    Are we so helpless against the tide
    Baby, every dog on the street
    Knows that we're in love with defeat
    Are we ready to be swept off our feet
    And stop chasing every breaking wave

    Every sailor knows that the sea
    Is a friend made enemy
    And every shipwrecked soul knows what it is
    To live without intimacy

    I thought I heard the captain's voice
    But it's hard to listen while you preach
    Like every broken wave on the shore
    This is as far as I could reach

    If you go
    If you go your way and I go mine
    Are we so
    Are we so helpless against the tide
    Baby, every dog on the street
    Knows that we're in love with defeat
    Are we ready to be swept off our feet
    And stop chasing every breaking wave

    The sea knows where are the rocks
    And drowning is no sin
    You know where my heart is
    The same place that yours has been
    And we know that we fear to win
    And so we end before we begin
    Before we begin

    If you go
    If you go your way and I go mine
    Are we so
    Are we so helpless against the tide
    Baby, every dog on the street
    Knows that we're in love with defeat
    Are we ready to be swept off our feet
    And stop chasing every breaking wave Writer/s: Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul David Hewson
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 2

  • John G from Los AngelesIs it really "... every dog on the street / Knows that we're in love with DEFEAT"? I think it sounds like he's saying "deep sea" (as if to say 'in over our heads'), which (to me) goes better with the rest of the song than "defeat."
  • Nick from La Paz, BoliviaBest song from the album! Very U2, haunting with it's imagery. They still got it!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Prince

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?

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."