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“Sunday Bloody Sunday” was written and performed by Irish band U2. It was released in 1983 as their first track on their album, “War.” Bono was in New York when the incident that inspired the song occurred.
The title references the events that took place on January
30, 1972, which is a day known as “Bloody Sunday.” British soldiers fired at
unarmed civil rights protestors in Derry, Northern Ireland. Protestors were
standing up against internment without trial. This policy disproportionately
targeted and impacted the Catholic nationalist community.
More than 10,000 people were involved in the protest. The protest started
peacefully, but as the day went on, fights broke out between the protestors and
the British army. Protestors threw stones at soldiers. As the soldiers moved
into arrest them, they fired their guns. By the end of the day, 13 people were
killed and 14 were injured. Bloody Sunday was the shooting with the highest
reported death count of a single incident during the Troubles.
This day advanced a period called “The Troubles,” which
lasted from the late 1960s to 1998. The time was a conflict between Irish
nationalists (mainly Catholics) who wanted independence from Britain and those
who wanted Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. More than 3,500 lives
were lost during the Troubles.
U2 emphasizes that the song does not take sides in the
conflict and the song just tells the events that happened. During live
performances of this song, Bono waves a white flag and clarifies that the
song’s message is one of peace, not politics. Despite its intentions, the song
has been controversial because of its subject matter.
The song emphasizes a desire for peace after a conflict that
lasted for so long. The lyrics plead with authorities on “How long must we sing
this song?” and state that peace can come tonight. The song was inspired in
part by the famous imageof Edward Daly waving a bloodied handkerchief as a sign and symbol of
peace. While the song is about Bloody Sunday, it looks at the event from the
perspective of a bystander watching things unfold in horror.
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