[ Verse 1]
Come all you stars fallen out of the sky
Come all you angels forgetting to fly
Come all who feel we're not on our own
All UFOs come on your way home
Alone, that's no way to be carrying on
Come on, we're betting on a future that's long
You just have to be right one more time then you're wrong
[Refrain]
Atomic City (Atomic)
Oh, oh
Atomic City (Atomic)
Oh, oh
[Chorus]
I'm free
Where you are is where I'll be
I'm free
So unexpectedly
[Verse 2]
Come all who serve above and below
Come all believers and all who don't know
Come quick, come soon, comme ci, comme ça
Then you dive into your eyes and blah blah blah
Guitar-shaped pool with strings et cetera
Sinatra swings, a choir sings
Love is god and god is love
And if your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough
[Refrain]
Atomic City (Atomic)
Oh, oh
Atomic City
Atomic Sun for everyone
For everyone
[Bridge]
But he likes roulette
The wheel has not stopped
Spinning yet
[Chorus]
I'm free
Where you are is where I'll be
I'm free
So unexpectedly
[Outro]
I'm free
I see what's in front of me
And your freedom is contagious
What you've got I wanna be
I'm free
I'm free
I came here for the fight
You can win big if you’re right more than 50% of the time!
lyric is wrong : should read “in luck or in song” he’s saying that as a gambler you can always win all back and as a songwriter, even if you write a bunch of duds, you can always write another bit, like Atomic City
Las Vegas is known, in part, for extravagant residencies from musical artists having passed their prime: ‘stars’ fallen out of the ‘sky’ of fame and fortune.
From Barry Manilow’s record-breaking run of 600+ shows to visits by U2, Donny Osmond, Celine Dion and more, the city has famously welcomed those choosing to ‘slow down’ in their careers as opposed to setting off on a physically taxing worldwide tour.
Elvis Presley’s time at the International lends a different tone to this line, as many believe it was his residency here that contributed to the physical and emotional downfall leading to his untimely death in 1977.
this lyric is wrong. it should read: “god doesn’t play dice” which is an Einstein quote. “but he likes roulette. the wheel has not stopped spinning yet”
In the song he bounces back and forth with strange assumptions on UFO’s, angels and his opinions on gambling, but in the quote “It took me my whole life, I got the keys to the cages” he talks about how he has allowed his mind to think whatever he wants and so “I’m ready for bright lights” could be talking about casino lights or the kind of lights such as the ones in heaven.
Stars falling out of the sky can also refer you to all the celebrities getting cancelled, dying of overdoses or other causes in recent years: Petty, Bowie, Prince, Will Smith, Louis CK etc.
Dream big, friends!
So-so in French, not the best, not the worst.
The angels of the Bible were not winged.
this is a double entendre meaning that it took him whole life to realize how to free his mind and the minds of others OR that he is a life long gambling addict in denial, believing that he knows who is going to win the MMA cage matches. “i’m ready for bright lights” can mean both the proverbial light people who have flatlined report to move towards OR the bright lights of Vegas' casinos
Bono dismissing the earnestness of his younger self’s songwriting as cliche.
The UFOs on their way home applies to how Nevada is home of top-secret military base Area 51, being a “storage of aliens”, and the day Atomic City released, U2 had a concert at the Sphere, in Las Vegas, Nevada, ya get it mate?
The front row in Las Vegas applies to the Las Vegas sphere,
and the “big one tonight” is supposed to reference U2 being the first concert at the Sphere, and also, the large ball behind the U2 group in the cover art is the sphere either before being built or after being built.