"Gloria" is a song by

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band U2. It is the opening track and second single from the band's 1981 album, ''

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...

''. It features a chorus sung in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, from the liturgical " Gloria in Excelsis Deo." It was one of their lowest-charting singles on the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...

, peaking at #55 but was more successful in Ireland and New Zealand, reaching the Top 20. Allmusic cited the song as an example of "when U2 marry the message, melody, and sound together... the results are thoroughly impressive," while

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

said the song "displays some musical dynamism, but its Latin-language chorus tempers its anthemic qualities."

Composition

"Gloria" highlights bassist

Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-born Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock band U2. He has resided in County Dublin, Ireland since his family moved to Malahide in 1965, when he was five years old. Cl ...

as it features three styles of playing in one song (using a pick for the most part, playing with fingers during the slide guitar by the Edge, then a "slap & pop" solo towards the end). The chorus "Gloria in te Domine / Gloria exultate" translates to "Glory in You, Lord / Glory, exalt im with "exalt" in the

imperative mood The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. To form the imperative mood, ...

, a reference to

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

30:2 (''in te Domine, speravi''). The song also contains references to

Colossians The Epistle to the Colossians is the twelfth book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle and Timothy, and addressed to the church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately f ...

2:9-10 ("Only in You I'm complete") and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

5:7-9 ("The door is open / You're standing there"). The song also references

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

's 1964 love song "

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkin ...

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

is quoted in the 1994 book ''Race of Angels'':

Live performances

"Gloria" has been played in concert more than 370 times. It was debuted on the October Tour prior to the release of the album, and was introduced as "Gloria and Gloria" by Bono. It was played on every tour up to and including the Lovetown Tour, after which it was not played for fifteen years until the

Vertigo Tour The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2004 album ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums between March 2005 and December 2006. The Vertigo Tour ...

where it made several appearances. It was once again revived on U2's 2015

Innocence + Experience Tour The Innocence + Experience Tour (styled as iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour) was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the band's 2014 album ''Songs of Innocence'', the tour visited arenas throughout 2015. It was U2's first ...

where it was played second in the set list. It often rotated with other early U2 hits such as "The Electric Co.," and "Out of Control.". The song was played again on the

Experience + Innocence Tour Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...

, where it often rotated with All Because of You and "Red Flag Day". It was played twice on The Joshua Tree Tour 2019, taking the place of "

I Will Follow "I Will Follow" is a song by rock band U2. It is the opening track from their debut album, ''Boy'', and it was released as the album's second single in October 1980. Lead singer Bono wrote the lyrics to "I Will Follow" in tribute to his mother ...

" both times. Live recordings of the song appear on ''

Under a Blood Red Sky ''Under a Blood Red Sky'' is a live album by Irish rock band U2, produced by Jimmy Iovine and released on 21 November 1983. The record's eight tracks were compiled from three concerts during the group's 1983 War Tour, including two songs fro ...

'' and the '' Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky'' DVD. A live version from the

Hammersmith Palais The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse'' to be ...

is also available on the ''October (Special Edition)'' CD.

Music video

The "Gloria" video, written and directed by

Meiert Avis Meiert Avis is an Irish music video and commercial director. Avis has directed videos for artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Alanis Morissette, Flyleaf, Jennifer Lopez, New Found Glory and Josh Groban, ...

, was filmed in October 1981 on a barge in

Grand Canal Dock Grand Canal Dock () is a Southside area near the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. It is located on the border of eastern Dublin 2 and the westernmost part of Ringsend in Dublin 4, surrounding the Grand Canal Docks, an enclosed harbour where the ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

near Windmill Lane. "Gloria" was the first U2 music video that received heavy airplay on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. The video featured U2 playing on a barge while a crowd of onlookers danced. Neither the song nor the video has been included in any of the band's compilations.

Track listing

Charts

References