The Joshua Tree album from U2 has gone down in history as a modern masterpiece!
“Where the Streets Have No Name” is the opening track. A lot of people say the title as “Where the Streets Have No Names,” but it’s actually “Where the Streets Have No Name.” I’ve said “No Names” before, though.
A few years before this album was released, Bono visited Ethiopia after performing at Live Aid. Many people thought the song was about Ethiopia, suggesting it was a place with streets that had no names, a country that felt far away and one people didn’t always want to think about.
Apparently, that’s not what the song is about.
You have to kind of wade through the weeds when you’re thinking about U2 songs and listening to them because it’s sometimes hard to know exactly what they’re about. Bono said it was a reflection on another country, an other country, any other country, the country of imagination.
There are also stories that the song was inspired by Bono hearing that, in some cities, people could tell your religion, income, or social status simply by the street you lived on. The idea behind the song was imagining a place where none of that mattered, where people weren’t divided by where they lived or who they were.
Think about that when you’re listening to this track.
The song almost didn’t make the album. The band spent a long time trying to get it right in the studio. In fact, the recording sessions became so frustrating that there were discussions about scrapping the song altogether. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed because it went on to become one of U2’s signature songs and arguably one of the greatest album openers in rock history.
Bono loved the song as the album opener because he said it sounded like an orchestra tuning up at the beginning. He thought that made it the perfect way to open The Joshua Tree.
Here’s “Where the Streets Have No Name.”
