User:Phogphaithful1/Mothers of the Disappeared

"Mothers of the Disappeared" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the eleventh and final track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. The song is a tribute to the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, whose sons and daughters were kidnapped and killed by the militaristic government of Argentina during the years of the Dirty War. The song is one of several on the album that references turmoil in South American countries including "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "One Tree Hill (song)". "Mothers of the Disappeared" is one of three songs on the album that The Edge calls the "suite of death" (referring to their themes of death), the other two being "Exit" and "One Tree Hill."

The song was not released as a single on the album. Though rarely played live, "Mothers of the Disappeared" is a favorite among U2's live songs due to its powerful, emotional feel. Like many of U2's songs, "Mothers of the Disappeared" is a political song aimed to expose and criticize humans rights violations all around the world.

Composition
The song follows an A - E - D chord progression with variations of the A chord throughout. The song also features a piano-like loop played from Larry Mullen Jr.'s drum beat through a percussion processor, an idea created by producer Brian Eno. Bono's singing in "Mothers of the Disappeared" is a lower pitch than normal and he recites each line in an a saddening drone to reflect the feeling of the lyrics themselves. Between the stanzas and at the end of the song, the band steadily increases the intensity of the song with harmonies, powerful rhythm, and volume. The Edge makes use of both acoustic and electric guitars in the song, layering them in the song's outro. On the original release of The Joshua Tree the song is 5:12 long, but in the 20th Anniversary remastered release of the album, the song is 5:14 in length.

"Mothers of the Disappeared" was inspired by the band's travels to South America in the summer of 1986 during their involvement with Amnesty International and the A Conspiracy of Hope tours. During the tour, U2 and other artists including Sting, Bryan Adams, and Peter Gabriel raised awareness about human rights violations. During the events Bono was particularly drawn to the horrors of Jorge Videla and the Pinochet that resulted in the disappearances of tens of thousands of resisting citizens and the mothers who really did not know what had happened to their sons and daughters. Bono said that the song was first dedicated to the Mothers of El Salvador, and later to the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who were the first mothers of the "disappeared." The song is a tribute their memory and the suffering of the mothers of the lives lost in the years of the Dirty War.

Some believe that the song also is referencing those kidnapped and killed by the IRA in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s, who were called "The Disappeared." U2 is known to voice their opposition to the religious and nationalist fighting in Ireland in songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Peace On Earth."

Lyrics
"Midnight, our sons and daughters / Were cut down and taken from us / Hear their heartbeat / We hear their heartbeat /

In the wind we hear their laughter / In the rain we see their tears / Hear their heartbeat, we hear their heartbeat /

Night hangs like a prisoner / Stretched over black and blue / Hear their heartbeats / We hear their heartbeats /

In the trees our sons stand naked / Through the walls our daughters cry / See their tears in the rainfall."

The lyrics for "Mothers of the Disappeared" were written by Bono.

Live Performances
The live performances of "Mothers of the Disappeared" is quite popular despite the fact it has only been played live at fourteen different shows including three performances at the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the Popmart Tour and two performances at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile during the Popmart and Vertigo tours. During the performance of the song in Santiago on February 11, 1998, the band played a rare version of the song and allowed actual Argentine mothers on the stage to hold posters of and say the names of their lost relatives to the audience. The band had a similar displays in 1989 and in February 1998 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Toward the end of the performance, Bono sings "El Pueblo vencera!", which often translates to "The people will win" or "The people defeat." During many performances of the song, there are images and video clips of the mothers and of the Dirty War playing on large screen displays behind the band.