Where The Streets Have No Name - Remastered

In 1985, Bono visited Ethiopia after performing at Live Aid. Many assumed this song is about that country, since many streets there don't have names. The song is actually metaphorical. Bono came up with the title on his Ethiopia trip, but when he wrote the lyrics, he wasn't sure what the song was about. In his 2022 book Surrender, he explained: "On reflection I suppose I want to write about that 'other country,' the country of the imagination. I want to run out of hiding, to tear down the walls that hold me inside myself. I want to touch the flame."

Brian Eno, known for his etherial, experimental music and for his time in Roxy Music, produced this track along with Daniel Lanois. Eno got a chance to build one of his signature soundscapes on the intro - Bono's vocals don't come in until 1:46. The Edge wrote the music in his home studio with no idea what lyric would get attached to the song. His demo had a keyboard line at the beginning that Eno worked into a slow-building open driven by his synthesizer. The Edge added one of his distinctive guitar parts, a repeated arpeggio with a delay effect. Very thrifty with the notes while generating a rich texture. Bono thought it sounded like an orchestra tuning up, and felt it was a great way to open the The Joshua Tree album.

The Joshua Tree became the fastest-selling album in both the US and UK. In the band's 2009 bio, U2 By U2, Bono explained explained why the band chose this as the introductory track: "'Where The Streets Have No Name' was the perfect introduction. It is one of the most extraordinary ideas, only matched by The Doors' 'Break On Through (To The Other Side)' as a throw-down to an audience. Do you want to go there? Because if you do, I'm ready to go there with you, to that other place. Call it what you like, a place of imagination, where there are no limitations."