Europa_Thomas

I’d like to give him a song, but I don’t know if I have any that are good enough. Bono taught me to sing. When I got my car and could enjoy any music I wanted (especially lots of U2) all alone, I slowly went from the girl who would rather die than sing to the girl who would sing shyly to the girl who would belt it out like her favorite Irish tenor and duet with him on dozens of his songs while driving to and from work. This took longer, but Bono also taught me to write songs. I was blown away by every track on Achtung Baby! and wished I could write a whole album or even just 1 song with lyrics as amazing as Bono’s. I have written multiple songs about or inspired by Bono, but none of them seem worthy to perform for him. I’m glad I wrote them, even the weak ones, because each was a learning experience, but would any of them be worthy gifts on the level of the gifts that Bono has given me? Thank you for teaching me to sing and write songs, Bono, and happy birthday!

I regret that I wasn’t familiar with his music until this tragic moment, but I am enjoying clever lyrics and folksy midwestern voice. RIP, Mr. Prine.

10 years ago, I hated Rush. I thought the lyrics to “Fly By Night” were cheesy, I thought Geddy was a girl and was not 1 iota more fond of him when I found out he was a guy (I called him “Geddy Spaghetti”), and I couldn’t stand their 8-minute songs. But I had to a lot of Rush songs often because my dad liked them and my brother loved them. I started to change my mind about Rush when I heard the song “Roll the Bones.” It was so catchy that I couldn’t resist it despite still disliking Geddy’s voice. Over time, I found more songs that I liked, and I eventually even learned to like Geddy’s voice (I have to agree with @dmway that his voice improved when it mellowed and deepened just a touch in the 80s). Now I have a lot of fun singing along with Geddy to my favorite Rush songs, and Neil is one of my favorite songwriters. His sophisticated lyrics were one of the biggest reasons I changed my mind about Rush (I still don’t love “Fly By Night,” but it’s better than I originally gave it credit for). The news of Neil’s death was devastating. I sadly never got to see Rush and realized that I probably never would, but it was still good to know that Neil Peart was living happily and peacefully in retirement for at least some time before his final illness. Thanks for your music and inspiration, Neil.

Make me, “Dad.” 😀😛

You’re really mixing your metaphors there, Doc. 😀

If I ever meet "Chrono," as he sometimes calls himself, I'll ask him if he got the "when the banks became cathedrals" line in the Coldplay song "Violet Hill" from "Lemon" or from "The Playboy Mansion."

I highly recommend that everyone look up the parody song "Cavity Search," by Weird Al.

Maybe Bono proves that you're never too old to acquire new skills.