Bono Writes a Song for Ruth Graham
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks on February 26, 2009
The Billy Graham-Bono connection goes a little deeper as we discover an interesting tidbit: U2 frontman Bono wrote a song for Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth Bell Graham. A Washington Times story about the 2005 New York Crusade, billed as Graham’s last, included this bit about the rock band U2:
The evangelist geared the evening to young people, intertwining mentions of the rock group U2, St. Augustine and MTV. U2’s lead vocalist Bono, visited him and his wife at their Montreat, N.C., home, he said, and composed a song for Ruth Graham.
“In his song, he said we are ‘estranged by sin and bones,’ ” he said.
Which raises the obvious question for U2 and Billy Graham fans: Where is this song? So far a U2 song with the lyrics “estranged by sin and bones” hasn’t surfaced, and it doesn’t look the song will appear on U2’s latest studio album, No Line on the Horizon, which comes out next week.
dave wainscott said,
On “How To Dismantle,” U2 have a song “Yahweh”
with the line “stranded in some skin and bones”
which is an obvious close fit. Bono is is famous for slightly morphing lyrics from song to song, for using the same/similar lyrics in more than one song, and early version to final recorded song. So whether “Yahweh” is the exact song he wrote for her is up for grabs, but what seems likely is he gifted her with an early version of it.
I do know one woman who will know. She lives at
http://www.U2sermons.blogspot.com
John Schroter said,
the poem’s in a case at the Billy Graham library here in Charlotte. I’ll try to head in there and write down the lyrics for you.
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