U2's Bono Has Written a Song for Paris

U2’s Bono has penned a song inspired by Paris and the victims of last month’s deadly terror attacks.

The rock group's frontman and his bandmate The Edge sat with CNN host Fareed Zakaria for a wide-ranging interview in which they discussed how growing up in Ireland informs their views, the U.S. response on Syrian refugees and, of course, those Nov. 13 attacks in which 130 people were killed in a string of coordinated shootings and bombings across the French capital.

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The worst massacre took place at the Bataclan venue, where 89 people were killed on the night the Eagles of Death Metal was playing. U2 was in town that evening ahead of their scheduled concerts the following night and Nov. 15, though both dates were postponed following the tragedy.

(Associated Press)

When asked whether the theme of Paris would appear in a new U2 album, Bono told Zakaria of a new song, titled “SOS” or “Streets of Surrender,” which he started writing for the Italian singer Zucchero and includes a line about Paris being the “city of liberty”.

Bono recited the lyrics: “Every man’s got one city of liberty, for me it’s Paris, I love it. Every time I get lost down these ancient streets, I find myself again. I didn’t come here to fight you. I came down these streets of love and pride to surrender.”

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The song also alludes to the refugee crisis, with a lyric hinting at the Syrian child photographed dead on a Turkish beach in September: “Everybody’s crying about some kid that they found lying on a beach, born in a manger.”

The CNN interview aired Sunday to coincide with U2’s return to Paris for the first of a brace of concerts at AccorHotels Arena on Dec. 6-7.

CNN’s sister company HBO will air U2: Innocence and Experience: Live in Paris on Monday night at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Watch the clip here.