Winter (U2 song)
Encyclopedia
"Winter" is a song by rock
band U2
. The track was originally planned to be included on the band's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, but it was cut at the end of the recording sessions as it did not fit the album's theme. The song does appear on the accompanying film Linear
. "Winter" was written for the 2009 war film Brothers at the request of director Jim Sheridan
, and it plays over the closing credits. Several different versions of the song have been recorded, including an uptempo rock arrangement on Linear and a slower acoustic version in Brothers. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe award.
. After telling the band about the script for the film, Sheridan asked them if they would write a song for it. Guitarist The Edge
began to compose a piece on piano that the band thought would fit the film. As the recording progressed, it became a "conventional, straightforward arrangement" which The Edge described as "too close to the U2 sound and U2 form". The track did not begin to come together until U2 viewed a rough cut of the film. The Edge noted "it was really at that point that we really got inspired and the song started to come together quite quickly".
With the help of producer
Brian Eno
, the band began to work on the song from a different angle, with the result being a more stripped-down version that echoed The Edge's original piano composition. The Edge stated that the piano "seemed to be the key to making the song work... when we went back to that instrument, it seemed to lock in and start to make sense". The original rock arrangement is the one in Linear, while the acoustic version is what appears in Brothers. In addition, an electronic
version has also been developed.
Lead singer Bono
wrote the lyrics in one night and they were revised just once after that. Tobey Maguire
's character Captain Sam Cahill was the inspiration for the lyric, with the band noting that the focus on "intense hidden emotion" and the secrets he held inside "was a jumping off point, thematically." Bono noted that Sheridan wanted a "complex song for a complex character" and so the band wrote two songs: "Winter" and "White as Snow
". While "White as Snow" focuses more on the relationship between the Cahill brothers, "Winter" is a "more universal song about the experience of the armed forces in Afghanistan."
U2 wanted to include "Winter" on the album No Line on the Horizon, as well as on Brothers, but this ultimately did not happen; The Edge noted that "though it's a beautiful tune, it doesn't quite fit on our record thematically". The song was cut in the final days of recording. Brothers was planned to be released before No Line on the Horizon, but the timing made it difficult to complete the song in time, and the band offered Sheridan the use of "White as Snow" instead. The eventual delay in the release of Brothers gave the band enough time to complete "Winter" and it was used in the film's closing credits. The band later noted that it was a better selection for the film than "White as Snow".
described the rockier Linear version as being "surrounded by a deceptively simple rhythm track and an evocative string arrangement courtesy of Eno."
film Linear
, based on a story by Corbijn and Bono where a Paris
ian traffic cop travels across France and the Mediterranean Sea
to visit his girlfriend in Tripoli
. During the sequence, the cop, played by Saïd Taghmaoui
, leaves Paris and begins his journey across the French and Spanish countryside. It ends with him pulling off the road for a rest where the next track, "White as Snow", begins.
for its role in Brothers. In a preview of No Line on the Horizon, Q
called the Linear version one of the "instantly striking tracks" while describing Bono's "lyric about a soldier in an unspecified war zone" as "fine". Rolling Stone
reviewer Brian Hiatt called it a "lovely discarded ballad". The Los Angeles Times
had a negative impression of the Brothers version, labelling it "a snails-paced somber number with some oh-so-serious, look-at-me flashes of rhythm" while noting that it "could have used some of the gospel atmospheres of the act's 2009 effort No Line on the Horizon."
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. The track was originally planned to be included on the band's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, but it was cut at the end of the recording sessions as it did not fit the album's theme. The song does appear on the accompanying film Linear
Linear (film)
Linear is a 2009 film directed by Anton Corbijn. The film includes music from U2's 2009 studio album, No Line on the Horizon, and was included on both digital and DVD formats with several editions of the album.-Development:...
. "Winter" was written for the 2009 war film Brothers at the request of director Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
, and it plays over the closing credits. Several different versions of the song have been recorded, including an uptempo rock arrangement on Linear and a slower acoustic version in Brothers. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe award.
Writing and recording
"Winter" was written for the 2009 war film Brothers directed by Jim SheridanJim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
. After telling the band about the script for the film, Sheridan asked them if they would write a song for it. Guitarist The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
began to compose a piece on piano that the band thought would fit the film. As the recording progressed, it became a "conventional, straightforward arrangement" which The Edge described as "too close to the U2 sound and U2 form". The track did not begin to come together until U2 viewed a rough cut of the film. The Edge noted "it was really at that point that we really got inspired and the song started to come together quite quickly".
With the help of producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, the band began to work on the song from a different angle, with the result being a more stripped-down version that echoed The Edge's original piano composition. The Edge stated that the piano "seemed to be the key to making the song work... when we went back to that instrument, it seemed to lock in and start to make sense". The original rock arrangement is the one in Linear, while the acoustic version is what appears in Brothers. In addition, an electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
version has also been developed.
Lead singer Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
wrote the lyrics in one night and they were revised just once after that. Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
's character Captain Sam Cahill was the inspiration for the lyric, with the band noting that the focus on "intense hidden emotion" and the secrets he held inside "was a jumping off point, thematically." Bono noted that Sheridan wanted a "complex song for a complex character" and so the band wrote two songs: "Winter" and "White as Snow
White as Snow (song)
"White as Snow" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the ninth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. It was written from the perspective of a dying soldier serving in Afghanistan, and lasts the length of time it takes him to die...
". While "White as Snow" focuses more on the relationship between the Cahill brothers, "Winter" is a "more universal song about the experience of the armed forces in Afghanistan."
U2 wanted to include "Winter" on the album No Line on the Horizon, as well as on Brothers, but this ultimately did not happen; The Edge noted that "though it's a beautiful tune, it doesn't quite fit on our record thematically". The song was cut in the final days of recording. Brothers was planned to be released before No Line on the Horizon, but the timing made it difficult to complete the song in time, and the band offered Sheridan the use of "White as Snow" instead. The eventual delay in the release of Brothers gave the band enough time to complete "Winter" and it was used in the film's closing credits. The band later noted that it was a better selection for the film than "White as Snow".
Composition
QQ (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
described the rockier Linear version as being "surrounded by a deceptively simple rhythm track and an evocative string arrangement courtesy of Eno."
Appearances in other media
"Winter" appears as the third track in the Anton CorbijnAnton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade...
film Linear
Linear (film)
Linear is a 2009 film directed by Anton Corbijn. The film includes music from U2's 2009 studio album, No Line on the Horizon, and was included on both digital and DVD formats with several editions of the album.-Development:...
, based on a story by Corbijn and Bono where a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian traffic cop travels across France and the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
to visit his girlfriend in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
. During the sequence, the cop, played by Saïd Taghmaoui
Saïd Taghmaoui
Saïd Taghmaoui is a French actor and screenwriter. One of his defining screen roles was that of Saïd in the award winning 1995 French film La Haine directed by Mathieu Kassovitz...
, leaves Paris and begins his journey across the French and Spanish countryside. It ends with him pulling off the road for a rest where the next track, "White as Snow", begins.
Reception
"Winter" was nominated for "Best Original Song" at the 67th Golden Globe Awards67th Golden Globe Awards
The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...
for its role in Brothers. In a preview of No Line on the Horizon, Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
called the Linear version one of the "instantly striking tracks" while describing Bono's "lyric about a soldier in an unspecified war zone" as "fine". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
reviewer Brian Hiatt called it a "lovely discarded ballad". The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
had a negative impression of the Brothers version, labelling it "a snails-paced somber number with some oh-so-serious, look-at-me flashes of rhythm" while noting that it "could have used some of the gospel atmospheres of the act's 2009 effort No Line on the Horizon."