This short, meditative, hymn-like song from U2 never gets old. It sent chills down my spine when I first heard it, and it still does today. I also like how rare this kind of song is for U2 – a live-style performance led by the band’s guitarist, The Edge. It feels so distinct from anything else I had heard from them, and despite the group’s commercial fame, the piece sounds authentic and timeless. It’s great that they experimented with and explored traditional music in this way.
It’s a shame The Edge didn’t do more songs like this – his melancholic, mournful vocal delivery works beautifully here. The song is inspired by and loosely reflects the story of John Boyle O’Reilly, a Fenian poet connected to the Irish nationalist movement of the 19th century, which fought for Irish independence from Britain. The Edge reportedly got the idea after a trip to County Meath in Ireland, where he came across a monument to O’Reilly. U2 recorded the song during the Rattle and Hum sessions, and it appears in both the album and the film.
It tells of a O’Reilly, plight, being sent to the Australian island of Tasmania – once known as Van Diemen’s Land, named after Anthony van Diemen, a Dutch colonial governor. The name was later changed to Tasmania in 1856 in honor of the explorer Abel Tasman.
The convict claims he has been wrongly convicted and hopes that one day he will receive justice and earn an honest living. But for now, he is bound for a distant penal colony in the far southern reaches of the British Empire.
Port Arthur Tasmania was one of the most feared penal colonies in the entire British Empire. The system there relied heavily on strict discipline, and there is strong historical evidence that harsh physical punishment often hardened rather than reformed prisoners. Port Arthur was also considered extremely difficult to escape from, drawing later comparisons to places like Alcatraz.
The musical simplicity allows the story within the lyrics to take center stage, emphasizing the emotional weight of the narrative. U2’s willingness to step away from their standard rock sound and explore something more restrained and historical is admirable. My only criticism is how the song tapers off and ends with a brief, unrelated interview excerpt – it pulls you out of the mood the song so carefully builds.
For more background on the song and John Boyle O’Reilly, the Songfacts reference is a good place to start.
Hold me now, oh hold me now
‘Til this hour has gone around
And I’m gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen’s land
It’s a bitter pill I swallow here
To be rent from one so dear
We fought for justice and not for gain
But the magistrate sent me away
Now kings will rule and the poor will toil
And tear their hands as they tear the soil
But a day will come in this dawning age
When an honest man sees an honest wage
Hold me now, oh hold me now
‘Til this hour has gone around
And I’m gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen’s land
References:
1. Van Diemen’s Land – Facebook
2. Van Diemen’s Land – Songfacts
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Great song