WATCH: U2 Honors Renee Good in Politically Charged Protest Song “American Obituary”

A Song of Grief and Protest

U2 has released a new protest song, “American Obituary,” centered on the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis. The band, long known for speaking out on political issues, shared the track as part of a new EP. In the song, frontman Bono delivers sharp lyrics that directly name Good and the date she died.

“Renee Good born to die free,” Bono blares. “American mother of three/Seventh day January/ A bullet for each child, you see/The color of her eye/930 Minneapolis/To desecrate domestic bliss/Three bullets blast three babies kissed/Renee the domestic terrorist???”

Good, a Minneapolis poet and married mother of three, was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7 on Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis. U2 joins other musicians who have addressed ICE operations in Minnesota, including Bruce Springsteen with “Streets of Minneapolis” and Jesse Welles’ “Good vs. I.C.E.”

Family Response and EP Release

The 4½-minute song appears on U2’s new EP, “Days of Ash: Six Postcards from the Present … Wish We Weren’t Here,” released on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18. The band said the songs were written quickly because the issues felt urgent.

On Wednesday afternoon, Good’s family shared their reaction. “She valued people, community and connection,” Becca Good, Renee’s wife, said in a statement. “She would be deeply moved by this tribute from U2, and would hope it makes a difference in the world.”

Good’s parents and siblings added: “It is an incredible honor to have the talent and impact of U2 spreading a message of peace in Renee’s name. We certainly feel the urgency of the country’s situation reflected in the band’s powerful call for change and coming together.”

A Message the Band Calls Urgent

While some listeners may compare the song to U2’s earlier protest work, the band describes this release as a fast response to current events. The group said they are working on a full album but chose to issue these tracks now.

“They are songs of defiance and dismay, of lamentation,” Bono said in a statement. “Songs of celebration will follow, we’re working on those now … because for all the awfulness we see normalized daily on our small screens, there’s nothing normal about these mad and maddening times and we need to stand up to them before we can go back to having faith in the future. And each other.

“If you have a chance to hope it’s a duty,” he continued. “A laugh would be nice too. Thank you.”

Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. also reflected on the band’s history of activism. “Going way back to our earliest days, working with Amnesty or Greenpeace, we’ve never shied away from taking a position and sometimes that can get a bit messy, there’s always some sort of blowback,” he said, ” but it’s a big side of who we are and why we still exist.”