"An Cat Dubh" and "Into the Heart" are the third and fourth tracks, respectively, from U2's debut album, Boy.
The two songs are played together as one, both on the album, and during every live performance. On European pressings of Boy, "An Cat Dubh" runs at a track time of 4:47, and "Into the Heart" runs at 3:28. On North American pressings of the album, "An Cat Dubh" runs at 6:21, and "Into the Heart" runs at 1:58. This can be easily noted by the visible difference between the two vinyls. However, the tracks together sound identical on both pressings, and also both have a total run time of 8:14. Due to the track time differences, there is no official determination of where one song begins and where one ends. Therefore, both songs are usually considered as one. For example, U2's 1998 single "Sweetest Thing," features a live track of both songs, but is listed simply as a live version of "An Cat Dubh." Although the two songs are separate tracks on Boy, live releases of the songs on the Live from Boston 1981 digital album and the Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago DVD feature both songs on a single track, similar to the "Sweetest Thing" single.
The songs had been played at almost all shows on every U2 tour until The Unforgettable Fire Tour. After the first leg of that tour, it disappeared until the band's 2005 Vertigo Tour. It was featured at just over half of the concerts on the Vertigo Tour's first leg, and at one on the second leg, but was omitted from subsequent legs. It is featured in the Vertigo 2005: Live From Chicago DVD.
Song meaning
The title "An Cat Dubh" means "The Black Cat" in the Irish language. The song was reportedly written about a short relationship Bono had with a woman whilst split from his girlfriend (now wife) Ali Hewson.
Gavin Friday, a very close friend of Bono, claims that the song is undoubtedly about sex, while Bono says that the song conjures the image of a cat and a bird, where the cat kills the bird and then plays with it before sleeping next to it. The song is layered with several guitar parts, a vibraphone and an affinity guitar, which was an instrument designed to sustain a note until another one is played. The affinity guitar is clearly heard at the beginning of 'Into the heart' and resembles a squealing synthesiser oriented sound. The instrument was also used again on 1987's 'With or without you'. This song, like a lot of the songs on Boy, are part of the concept of youth which was the given message and the theme which recurred on the Vertigo Tour. Bono says a lot of the themes on Boy and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb are co-related.
Lyrics
Say goodnight
She waits for me to turn out the light
Really still
She waits to break my will.
Woah-oh
Yes, and I know the truth about you.
She cat.
And in the daylight
A blackbird makes a violent sight
And when she is done
She sleeps beside the one
Woah-oh-oh
Yes, and I know the truth about you
She cat.
Yes, and I know the truth about you
She cat.
Ok, so I don't normally do this, but I'm only the 5th guy here to break 2500 posts and I never did an intro so I'm just saying thank you to you all for a great site that I really enjoy being a part of.
I'm not going to single anyone out, but I really enjoy chatting with those of you who all know who you are anyway and of course it's only right to thank Remy, without whom we wouldn't be here.
Long may it continue.
