Cedars of Lebanon (song)

"Cedars of Lebanon"
Song by U2 from the album No Line on the Horizon
Released	27 February 2009
Genre	Rock
Length	4:09
Label	Island
Writer(s)	U2 (music), Bono (lyrics)
Producer(s)	Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno
No Line on the Horizon track listing
"Breathe" (10) "Cedars of Lebanon" (11)

"Cedars of Lebanon" is a song by the rock band U2. It is the eleventh and final track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. It is sung in the character of a war correspondent who is "squeezing complicated lives into a simple headline"^[1] and who "observes "this shitty world" where the aroma of a rose "lingers and then it just goes".^[2] The song samples producer Brian Eno's own "Against the Sky" from his 1984 album The Pearl.

Reception

In a review of the album, Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the song "a somber meditation on war, separation and enmity".^[3] Comparing the song with "Moment of Surrender" on the same album, NME reviewer Ben Patashnik described "Cedars of Lebanon" as "similarly downbeat but no-less-enthralling", and said that the song "is buoyed by Larry Mullen Jr's martial drumming and a twinkling guitar".^[4] The Sydney Morning Herald called the song a "masterful closer", and said that the "backing vocals, ambient noises and restraint seal a deal alongside the atmosphere of philosophical weariness."^[5]

Personnel

U2[6] Bono – lead vocals, guitar The Edge – guitar, backing vocals, piano Adam Clayton – bass guitar Larry Mullen, Jr. – drums, percussion

Technical[6] Production – Daniel Lanois Engineering – Tony Mangurian Additional engineering – Declan Gaffney, Richard Rainey Mixing – Lanois, Gaffney

References

Footnotes

1. Donovan, Patrick (27 February 2009). "No Line On The Horizon". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
2. Kootnikoff (2010), p. 139
3. Pareles, Jon (2 March 2009). "Last Gang in Town". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
4. Patashnik, Ben (26 February 2009). "No Line on the Horizon". NME. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
5. Zuel, Bernard (28 February 2009). "U2: No Line On The Horizon (Universal)". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
6. Owens, Catherine (2009). No Line on the Horizon (Box format hardback book). U2. Interscope Records. B0012638-00.

Bibliography

• Kootnikoff, David (2010). U2: A Musical Biography. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-36523-7.

External links

• Lyrics at U2.com