The song talks about a female protagonist through the perspective of a ghost/spirit/angel that follows her around. This narrative is similar to that of the movie which inspired the song and gave it its title. It also allows for a second interpretation, in which the narrator is just a living human be...
[Verse 1]
Green light, 7-Eleven
You stop in for a pack of cigarettes
You don't smoke, don't even want to
Hey now, check your change
Dressed up like a car crash
Your wheels are turnin' but you're upside down
You say when he hits you, you don't mind
Because when he hurts you, you feel alive
Oh no, is that what it is?
[Verse 2]
Red lights, grey morning
You stumble out of a hole in the ground
A vampire or a victim
It depends on who's around
You used to stay in to watch the adverts
You could lip-sync to the talk shows
And if you look, you look through me
And when you talk, you talk at me
And when I touch you, you don't feel a thing
[Chorus]
If I could stay, then the night would give you up
Stay, and the day would keep its trust
Stay, and the night would be enough
[Verse 3]
Faraway, so close
Up with the static and the radio
With satellite television
You can go anywhere
Miami, New Orleans
London, Belfast and Berlin
And if you listen, I can't call
And if you jump, you just might fall
And if you shout, I'll only hear you
[Chorus]
If I could stay, then the night would give you up
Stay, then the day would keep its trust
Stay with the demons you drowned
Stay with the spirit I found
Stay, and the night would be enough
[Post-Chorus]
Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh
[Verse 4]
Three o'clock in the morning
It's quiet, there's no one around
Just the bang and the clatter
As an angel runs to ground
Just the bang and the clatter
As an angel hits the ground
Stay (Faraway, So Close!) was written by Bono & The Edge (Guitarist) & Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen Jr..
Stay (Faraway, So Close!) was produced by Flood & Brian Eno & The Edge (Guitarist).
U2 released Stay (Faraway, So Close!) on Mon Jul 05 1993.