Biblical Allusions in U2’s “October” (October, 1981)

The song “October” presents contrasting images of impermanence and eternity. The lyrics, “October and the trees are stripped bare / Of all they wear. What do I care?” reflect the biblical notion of life’s fleeting nature, as seen in Ecclesiastes, which posits “a time for everything under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 3) and the “ungraspable” (Hebrew hevel, often translated “vanity”) nature of everything. This “chasing after the wind” motif in Ecclesiastes emphasizes the transient nature of what we do and have. The line “But you go on / And on” conveys the eternal, unchanging nature of God, contrasting with the ephemeral world, as does the portrayal of God’s enduring kingdom in Psalm 46:6 and Psalm 10:16.

Bono’s personal spiritual rites and the band’s collective soul-searching are mirrored in the stark, meditative nature of the music. Niall Stokes notes the “other-worldly sadness” in “October,” a reflection of the band’s tumultuous phase, indicating a deeper, almost melancholic introspection (Stokes 29). Bono’s baptism and the band’s association with the Shalom group during this period underscore the spiritual undercurrents influencing the song. Bono himself described “October” as representing a colder, more contemplative time, symbolizing the fall and the stripping away of life’s comforts (McCormick 120).

The Edge’s piano work, born out of a long hiatus from the instrument, adds to the song’s reflective quality, embodying the “stark utility” of the European landscape they toured (Kootnikoff 23-24). This starkness in melody and lyrics match the biblical and existential themes of the song, weaving together personal, spiritual, and universal narratives into a meditation on the transient and the eternal.

McCormick, Neil, ed. U2 by U2. New York: HarperCollins, 2009.
Kootnikoff, David. U2: A Musical Biography. The Story of the Band. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Press, 2010. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=497214.
Stokes, Niall. U2 : The Stories behind Every U2 Song. London: Carlton, 2009.