Four Guys from Dublin – Part 2

I arrived in Bulgaria in June 1999 with about 70 other Peace Corps trainees. It was less than a decade since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the effects of 50 years of Communist dictatorship were still evident- including in the eyes of the people. Our first three months were spent in language, cross-cultural, and technical training in a small ski resort town in the Rila Mountains where I lived with a wonderful host family who didn’t speak any English. One day all 70 of us took our first day trip into the capital city, Sofia, where I purchased a cassette tape copy of U2’s The Best Of 1980-1990. As we listened to the tape on the bus ride back through the mountains, I saw that- although we were from different parts of the U.S.- digging U2’s music was something we all shared in common (a lesson not lost on me).

Living in Bulgaria for the next two years, I watched a lot of MTV Europe (which at the time still showed music videos) and I learned that while U2 may have been popular in the United States, they were huge in Europe. In interviews, I heard lead singer Bono refer to himself as a “pop star”- a term I hadn’t heard before in the States- and it wasn’t until I lived in Europe that I began to appreciate U2’s “Europeanness”. During my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer, The Best Of 1980-1990 became one of my favorite albums and when U2 released All That You Can’t Leave Behind in 2000 I immediately went out and bought a pirated copy on the street in the Black Sea city where I was living (and serving) with my French bulldog, Maurice. Here are some more of my favorite U2 songs. Enjoy! 

01. U2 feat. Johnny Cash – “The Wanderer” (1993)

02. U2 – “Walk On” (2000)

03. U2 – “Everlasting Love” (1989)

04. U2 – “Window in the Skies” (2006) 

05. U2 – “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” (1993)

06. U2 – “Miracle Drug” (2004)

07. U2 – “Grace” (2000)

08. U2 – “In God’s Country” (1987)

09. U2 – “Wild Honey” (2000)

10. U2 – “One” (1991)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

Waiting for President Clinton, Sofia, Bulgaria, November 1999

Recommended Links:

U2 – “Sweetest Thing”

U2 – “Window in the Skies”