U2 Releases "Get on Your Boots" on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Just a day before releasing "Get On Your Boots," the rock group U2 played for the President Elect of the United States. For all that Bono and U2 have done over the years for charity, including co-founding the organization One, whose mission is to end world poverty, it seemed only fitting that U2 appear at the "We Are One" Obama Inauguration concert Sunday, January 18 (Newsday.com). Along with Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Bon Jovi, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Sheryl Crow, Garth Brooks, the Black-eyed Peas and several others, U2 performed to a huge audience on the Mall in Washington, D.C., from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

"Get On Your Boots" is the first single from U2's upcoming album, "No Line On The Horizon," which will be released in the United States in March. The album is their first since 2004's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb," which sold over 3 million copies in the United States (9 million worldwide) and won eight Grammy Awards (all for which it was nominated). U2 has sold over 140 million albums worldwide since the release of "Boy" in 1980.

U2 has attempted to be a unifying world force for years. They appeared at the Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985 for Ethiopian famine. Bono sang on the "We Are The World" single. U2 also performed alongside Little Steven (of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band), Jackson Browne, and dozens of other artists on the anti-Apartheid song, "Sun City," and participated in the Amnesty International "Conspiracy of Hope" Tour that followed.

Bono, U2's singer, has been instrumental in helping provide famine relief and helping in alleviating the suffering in third world countries, primarily in Africa. He co-founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) in 2002 to help African governments reduce their debt, provide for themselves an equal footing in the world markets, and work to eliminate the AIDS epidemic. One mission of DATA was to work with African governments to provide more transparency in their dealings with the people of their respective countries.

The transparency angle and the one-world image no doubt appeals to President Elect Obama's worldview. In fact, they have been hallmarks of his presidential campaigns and of his press conferences and speeches leading up to Inauguration Day.

But the U2 connection may go a little deeper. On 1984's "The Unforgettable Fire," the first single, "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" was a blatant homage to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When the song was released, it became the band's first Top 40 single in the United States and its biggest hit. The song and the album marked a worldwide acceptance of the band's music.

Obama's election to the presidency in November was hailed as key to fulfilling "The Dream" of the civil rights leader, another step in the direction of full racial equality. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in August 1963 and delivered his most famous oration, speaking of equality, inclusiveness, and racial harmony. He had a dream, he said, "that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"

Equality, inclusiveness, and racial harmony have been common themes of the Obama campaign. They have also been the themes behind Bono's and U2's music and charitable works.

March 19, the day before the presidential inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama, is significant in that it is the day the United States celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Appropriate, some would say, given the historic significance of the event on the succeeding day. Barack Obama will not only become the 44^th president of the United States, but also the first African American to do so.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., did not live to see the fulfillment of his dream. Nor has his children, as he hopefully stated in his speech. But the division lines between the races and religions seem to have become a lot less stark in the intervening decades since his death. And with the inauguration of Barack Obama, those lines will hopefully grow even more dim.

It is a step on the path toward a dream fulfilled.

It may take a few more generations, but with the work of people like Barack Obama and the members of U2 and countless others, everyone may one day actually truly sing, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty! We are free at last!"

Everyone...

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"Get On Your Boots" will be available for digital download on February 15. The album will be release in the United States on March 2.

U2 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

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Sources:

U2.com

Newsday.com

Wikipedia.org

"I Have A Dream," Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Declaration of Independence," Thomas Jefferson

"Free At Last," traditional spiritual hymn