The Stories Behind U2 Songs, 10-13

In this segment of our list of stories behind 29 U2 songs, you will find information on "With or Without You" and "Where the Streets Have No Name."

10. "With or Without You" (1987)

This perpetual crowd-pleaser, released on the Grammy Award-winning album The Joshua Tree, was U2's first number-one song in America. Some feel the song is about Jesus ("see the thorn twist in your side"); others think it's about romantic love and longing for someone you can't be with.

The song is rife with symbolism, in both the lyrics and the music. Adam's bass is the pulse. Larry's drumming is the heartbeat. Edge's guitar chords represent the agony of a heart breaking. And Bono's voice and haunting lyrics are the personification of love and longing and the agony of unrequited love.

When his voice cries out, you know he's not just reciting the words but truly feeling the pain of loving someone he can't be with . . . and you feel that pain with him.

11. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (1987)

No dual meaning here -- U2's second song to top U.S. charts, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," is a gospel song about searching for and understanding one's spiritual beliefs. U2 even took a gospel choir with them to sing backup vocals during The Joshua Tree tour.

Bono often says he's not satisfied with some of his recorded lyrics, so he tends to "rewrite" them during live performances. For example, the original lyric: "You broke the bonds/And you loosed the chains/Carried the cross of my shame/Oh my shame . . ." is now sung: "You broke the bonds/And you loosed the chains/Carried the cross/Took my shame/You took the blame . . ." The change is ever so slight, but it makes the song much deeper and more meaningful.

12. "Where the Streets Have No Name" (1987)

Although "Streets" didn't crack the top ten in the States, it's a fan favorite that was frequently used to open shows on The Joshua Tree tour. The lyrics were inspired by a trip Bono and his wife took to Ethiopia in the mid-1980s, during which they volunteered at a refugee camp orphanage. With Edge's distinctive scratchy chords, Larry's enthusiastic drumming, and Adam's deep bass holding it all together, even the band admits it's much better live.

13. "Desire" (1988)

With "Desire," released as the first single from the album Rattle and Hum, Bono parodies and criticizes evangelical preachers, politicians, and the greed ingrained in the landscape of 1980s America. But the lyrics can have a more carnal interpretation as well.

Either way, the song was a hit, reaching number one on both Billboard's Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. The song also won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance, and it was U2's first song to reach the top of the charts in the U.K.

On the next page, you will find more U2 lyrics explained, including "Angel of Harlem" and "Mysterious Ways."

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