The Meaning Behind “Kite” by U2 and How Bono Found His Voice Through Profound Loss

The biggest anthem from U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind remains “Beautiful Day.”

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It sounds like spring. A rebirth. For the Irish group, it was. But it probably wouldn’t have happened without “Kite,” a song nestled on the album between “Walk On” and “In a Little While.”

“In a Little While,” Joey Ramone’s hymn. The last song Ramone heard before he died. It’s a love song Bono sang while hung over. Fitting for a punk rock gospel tune. But that’s the space “Kite” occupies. How little moments—sometimes bumbling moments—accumulate and become profound memories.

Walk On

Bono took his daughters out to fly a kite on a beach in Killiney, Ireland. But it crashed into the sand. Staring at the scene, one of his daughters said, “Daddy, can we go home and play with the PlayStation?”

It created a metaphor for Bono to write about his father, who was ailing at the time.

Something is about to give
I can feel it coming
I think I know what it is
I’m not afraid to die
I’m not afraid to live
And when I’m flat on my back
I hope to feel like I did

While Bono faced losing his father, the crashing kite incident also reminded him how quickly his daughters had grown up. They didn’t need their father as much as when they were younger.

And hardness, it sets in
You need some protection
The thinner the skin

Only What’s Necessary

Reflecting on U2’s 10th studio album and crafting it against the approaching millennium, The Edge told Rolling Stone in 2020, “The title tells you everything. All That You Can’t Leave Behind … you could also parse it as only the things you can’t leave behind—only the things that were essential. After all the opinions of the day had drifted away, what would be left behind by this work? We realized it’s just the songs themselves.”

The thought echoes U2’s return-to-roots approach. They’d escaped a musical corner by deconstruction their band on Achtung Baby. After three electro-rock albums, they found themselves stuck in another.

So they relied only on the essential building blocks of the band: guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. However, it proved to be harder than they expected. The early jam sessions weren’t fruitful.

The Edge then introduced the loop that inspired “Kite.” Bono, who’d struggled with vocal issues for years, also said his voice returned. The session was a pivotal moment for the band.

Who’s to say where the wind will take you
Who’s to say what it is will break you
I don’t know where the wind will blow
Who’s to know when the time has come around
I don’t wanna see you cry
I know that this is not goodbye

Finding His Voice Again

“Kite” is one of the first songs U2 wrote for All That You Can’t Leave Behind. An album composed under the threshold of a changing millennium.

When the calendar flipped from 1999 to 2000, the new year looked futuristic on paper. It almost doesn’t look real, and one can’t help but begin to feel obsolete.

Bono faced the harsh reality of time by losing his father. But he also felt pushed aside by his daughters’ growing independence. And understanding life’s cycle doesn’t make it easier to absorb.

I’m a man
I’m not a child
A man who sees
The shadow behind your eyes

When Bono finally hit the high note, his old voice returned. The one before the years of life on the road stripped it of its youth. But like his band, he had to break before he could heal.

Photo by KMazur/WireImage