Irish rock band U2 released a six-track EP on Wednesday, and its opening song is a tribute to Renee Good, the Minnesota woman who was fatally shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
U2 describes the EP, Days of Ash, as an immediate response to current events and features a track, called American Obituary, that calls for peace.
“Renee Good, born to die free. American mother of three. Seventh day, January. A bullet for each child, you see,” frontman Bono sings. “The colour of her eye. 930 Minneapolis. To desecrate domestic bliss. Three bullets blast, three babies kissed. Renee, the domestic terrorist?”
“America will rise against the people of the lie,” the chorus says.
“I am not mad at you, Lord,” the song continues. “You’re the reason I was there. Could you stop a heart from breaking, by having it not care? Could you stop a bullet in mid-air?”
Bono said American Obituary is “a song of fury” but “more than that a song of grief.”
“Not just for Renee but for the death of an America that at the very least would have had an inquiry into her killing … for her family as well as the credibility of law enforcement and the critical role they play in keeping the peace, keeping the citizenry safe,” he said in a special 40th anniversary edition of the band’s magazine, Propaganda.
Bono said he knows that Good’s family “have been praying for the ICE officer who took Renee’s life, while also praying for his family.”
“That’s the kind of people they are and Renee was the very best of us … better than the best of us,” he added.
“Renee didn’t just believe in kindness; she lived it, fully and fiercely,” Becca Good, her partner, said in a statement released with the project. “She believed every person deserved the same compassion, care and dignity regardless of who they were.”
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Good’s parents and siblings said they hope the song encourages reflection and unity.
“It’s an incredible honor to have the talent and impact of U2 spreading the message of peace in Renee’s name,” the statement read. “We certainly feel the urgency of the country’s situation reflected in the band’s powerful call for change and coming together.”
Antonio Romanucci, a lawyer representing Good’s family in a civil case connected to her death, said the tribute reflects a broader message.
“This deeply moving tribute to Renee’s life and legacy eloquently captures what so many people are feeling right now, and U2’s epic ability to advocate for peace in the world is unmatched. We believe this call to action by the band will move all who hear it,” he said in a statement.
The band said they were inspired by the people “fighting on the front lines of freedom” and the project marks U2’s first major release of new songs since 2017’s Songs of Experience.
“These songs were impatient to be out in the world,” Bono said. “They are songs of defiance and dismay, of lamentation. Songs of celebration will follow, we’re working on those now.”
U2 follows in the footsteps of other musical artists, like Bruce Springsteen, who have condemned the killing of Good and called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to “get the f–k out of Minneapolis.”
During an appearance at the Light of Day Winter Festival in his home state in January, the 76-year-old rocker dedicated his 1978 song The Promised Land to Good.
During his introduction of the song, Springsteen said: “I wrote this song as an ode to American possibility. It was about a both beautiful but flawed country that we are, and the country that we could be. Right now, we are living through incredibly critical times. The United States — the ideals and the values for which it stood for the past 250 years — is being tested as it’s never been in modern times.”
Springsteen then turned his attention to recent news, adding: “If you believe in the power of the law and that no one stands above it, if you stand against heavily armed masked federal troops invading an American city, using Gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens, if you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, send a message to this president as the mayor of that city has said, ICE should get the f–k out of Minneapolis.”
Springsteen was referring to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said during a press conference: “I have a message for ICE. Get the f–k out of Minneapolis.”
“So this song is for you, and the memory of the mother of three and American citizen Renee Good,” Springsteen said before launching into The Promised Land.
In mid-February, border czar Tom Homan said ICE operations in Minnesota were coming to an end.
— With files from The Associated Press
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