Chapter 22 | "Acrobat” by U2

I must be an acrobat 

To talk like this 

And act like that 

And you can dream 

So dream out loud 

And don't let the bastards grind you down 

This song is a fucking menace, and not the adorable, mischievous Dennis kind. From the siren-blare guitars to the insistent, relentless drumming, there is no question that someone—or something—is pursuing you and it’s not going to stop. If you thought the opening lyrics would be any less alarming, you’re wrong.  

Don’t believe what you hear 

Don’t believe what you see If you just close your eyes 

You can feel the enemy 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txjh9hmXnAo

In 1991, when Achtung Baby exploded on the scene as the long-awaited follow up to the rather lukewarm reception Rattle and Hum got (I mean, how could anything following The Joshua Tree be anything but lesser in comparison?) everyone was quick to call it a triumph or a failure.  

Nobody expected that it would be a complete reinvention from everything they’d known of U2 up to that point. It was both a turning point and a milestone in their career, or at least it seemed so to 16-year-old me, at the time. 

Eager to quickly digest it and make my summation, I listened to it start to finish over and over again and made my call on it: While not something I'd put in comparison to The Joshua Tree, it was better than Rattle and Hum. In my mind, it was absolutely a triumph. My personal stand-outs were “One,” “So Cruel,” “Mysterious Ways,” “Acrobat,” and “Love is Blindness.”  

When I was thinking about a song that would fit Chapter 22, “Acrobat” sprung to mind; there has never been a different song associated with this chapter. 

Autumn's Playlist: To Talk Like This and Act Like That  

The closer we come to the end of the book, the more difficult it becomes to speak to each song’s relevance to the playlist without giving away key plot points. Without getting into specifics, this song really comes down to reconciling what you know to be true with the cognitive dissonance of that truth being challenged, or perhaps dismantled entirely.

Those opening lines (referenced above) capture something essential about Chapter 22: the moment when what you've been told doesn't match what you're experiencing. When the narrative you've accepted starts to crack.

The "enemy" isn't always external. Sometimes it's your own assumptions; your own certainty about how things are, or maybe how they should be. Sometimes the enemy is the story you've been telling yourself—the one that keeps you safe, keeps you from asking questions

you're afraid to answer.

I must be an acrobat

To talk like this and act like that

The image of an acrobat is perfect for what Chapter 22 explores: the seemingly impossible mental gymnastics of believing in someone who’s proven to be untrustworthy.

Autumn has to balance what she knows with what she's being asked to consider and it’s not a low-stakes simple choice; it’s a high-wire act.

Lean too far toward self-protection, and you might dismiss the truth before ever hearing it. Lean too far toward giving someone the benefit of the doubt, and you might get hurt again.

Either way, you're performing an impossible balance while the ground shifts beneath you.

In the middle of all this instability, this line appears:

And you can dream

So dream out loud

To me, this was always about not losing sight of hope, despite all the indicators of impending threat.

Autumn’s allowed to hope. She's allowed to want the story to ring true. She’s allowed to dream that maybe—just maybe—there’s a version of story that has a happy ending. The message here, as I see it, is don’t pretend you don't care. Don't feign indifference when what you actually feel is terrified longing that this could actually be fixable.

Chapter 22 asks Autumn to be vulnerable enough to admit: I want to believe you. Even though I shouldn't. Even though it's dangerous.

That's what dreaming out loud looks like when the dream is terrifying.

The Menace of the Music

I called this song a menace at the start, and I meant it.

The guitars don't let up. The drums are relentless. The whole sonic landscape feels like pursuit—like something chasing you that you can't outrun. That's intentional; that's what Chapter 22 feels like.

You can't escape the truth once it starts revealing itself. You can cover your ears and close your eyes, but even when you do…you can feel the enemy.

It's there, it's real, and it's not going away just because you don’t want to see it.

The Triumph of Achtung Baby

U2 took a risk with Achtung Baby. They reinvented themselves completely. It was a risk and it paid off.

Chapter 22 is Autumn's Achtung Baby moment. She’s standing at a fork in the road, and everything that happens from this point on will separate before from after. The choice she faces really comes down to who she is versus who she’s becoming.

And I know that the tide is turning 'round

So don't let the bastards grind you down

Even when the truth is a menace.

Especially then.