Joshua Tree Songs

U2 almost got sick of 'With or Without You' before Bono helped rescue the slow-building song from the trash heap. It became the band's first No. 1 U.S. hit.

We've compiled links to all of our stories about the 10 songs on U2's 1987 landmark album, 'The Joshua Tree.'

After hearing the plight of the Mothers of the Disappeared (those who lost children to brutal regimes), Bono began to write the final song on 'The Joshua Tree.'

Bono's lyrics for 'Exit' were inspired by reading books about killers.

The first 'Joshua Tree' song to be played live, "Trip Through Your Wires" took its cues from American blues music.

'In God's Country' was the fourth, and final, single released from 'The Joshua Tree.' U2 were inspired by American politics in creating the rock tune.

Both in scope and approach, U2's 'Red Hill Mining Town' was very much in keeping with the old American protest tunes which Bono had been delving into back then.

The lyrical approach on U2‘s “Running to Stand Still” was as meticulously particular as the music was extemporaneous.

U2's propulsive song was inspired by Bono's visit to El Salvador in the midst of the country's civil war. He lashed out at the U.S.'s involvement in the lyrics.

How "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" became a key building block for U2's creative process.