When I Look At The World
by U2

Album: All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
Play Video
  • When you look at the world
    What is it that you see
    People find all kinds of things
    That bring them to their knees

    I see an expression
    So clear and so true
    That it changes the atmosphere
    When you walk into the room

    So I try to be like you
    Try to feel it like you do
    But without you it's no use
    I can't see what you see
    When I look at the world

    When the night is someone else's
    And you're trying to get some sleep
    When your thoughts are too expensive
    To ever want to keep

    When there's all kinds of chaos
    And everyone is walking lame
    You don't even blink now do you
    Or even look away

    So I try to be like you
    Try to feel it like you do
    But without you it's no use
    I can't see what you see
    When I look at the world

    I can't wait any longer
    I can't wait 'til I'm stronger
    Can't wait any longer
    To see what you see
    When I look at the world

    I'm in the waiting room
    I can't see for the smoke
    I think of you and your holy book
    When the rest of us choke

    Tell me, tell me
    What do you see
    Tell me, tell me
    What's wrong with me Writer/s: Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul Hewson
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • John from Budapest, Hungary I've always loved this song! I consider much of it to be a believer trying to imagine what God must think when He looks at the world. "I can't see what you see, when I look at the world " implies that a mere human just cannot regard his fellow men with the love that God has when He looks at the world.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Trucking Songs That Were #1 Hits

Trucking Songs That Were #1 HitsSong Writing

The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Little Richard

Little RichardFact or Fiction

Was Long Tall Sally a cross-dresser? Did he really set his piano on fire? See if you know the real stories about one of rock's greatest innovators.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.