It was a cold and wet December day
When we touched the ground at J.F.K.
The snow was melting on the ground
On B.L.S. I heard the sound
(Of an angel).
New York like a Christmas tree
Tonight, this city belongs to me,
(Angel).
Soul love
Well this love won't let me go.
So long
Angel of Harlem.
Birdland on Fifty-Three
The street sounds like a symphony
We got John Coltrane and a love supreme
Miles and she's got to be an angel.
Lady Day got diamond eyes
She sees the truth behind the lies
(Angel).
Soul love
Well this love won't let me go.
So long
Angel of Harlem.
Blue light on the avenue
God knows they got to you
Empty glass, the lady sings
Eyes swollen like a bee-sting.
Blinded, you lost your way
In the side streets and the alleyways
Like a star exploding in the night
Filling up the city with broad daylight.
Angel in devil's shoes
Salvation in the blues
You never looked like an angel
Angel of Harlem.
Composed by U2 / Bono
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About "Angel Of Harlem"
From the original U2 Album "Rattle And Hum" (10 October 1988)
"Angel of Harlem" is the second single from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. It peaked at #9 on the UK singles chart, #8 on the Dutch Top 40, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. A homage to Billie Holiday, it was released with two different B-sides; one was an original U2 song called "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel", while the other was a live version of Rattle and Hum's "Love Rescue Me."
History
"Angel of Harlem" was written during 1987's Joshua Tree Tour and the in-studio performance on the Rattle and Hum movie dates from a recording session at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee during the later stages of the tour's third leg. The song was a regular on 1989's Lovetown Tour and was played with B.B. King's band. A stripped-down acoustic rendition was performed on the Zoo TV Tour in 1992 and 1993 on a b-stage positioned in the midst of the crowd. It was then not played again until 2001's Elevation Tour, when it was sometimes performed acoustically and sometimes in its original electric style, albeit without the brass section. The only performances on 2005's Vertigo Tour came when a fan was pulled on stage in Dallas in late October to play guitar. The fan asked to play "Angel of Harlem" and although Bono's knowledge of the lyrics was poor, the band agreed to the request and the fan played the song along with them. It has also been performed on Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide shows on the Australian leg of the Vertigo tour in November 2006, where Bono dedicated the song to Kylie Minogue and often ended it with a snippet of Kylie's "I Should Be So Lucky." [From Wikipedia]
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