Mothers of the Disappeared

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"Mothers of the Disappeared"

Song by U2
from the album The Joshua Tree
Released	9 March 1987
Genre	Rock
Length	5:11
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Bono
Composer(s)	U2
Producer(s)	Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois
The Joshua Tree track listing
"Exit" (10)	"Mothers of the Disappeared" (11)

"Mothers of the Disappeared" is the eleventh and final track from U2's 1987 album, The Joshua Tree.

It was written about the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the mothers of the thousands of "disappeared" people who opposed the Videla and Galtieri coup d'état that overtook Argentina in 1976, who were kidnapped and never seen again.

Initially played only infrequently on the Joshua Tree Tour, "Mothers of the Disappeared" returned to U2's live set in February 1998, when they played in Buenos Aires and Santiago, for an emotional performance when the madres were invited onstage to say their sons' names. It also returned in 2006 on the Vertigo Tour on February 26 and March 2 when U2 again played in Santiago and Buenos Aires. The Edge played the song on a charango during both Vertigo Tour performances, and at the latter performance in Buenos Aires, five of the madres were in attendance, and Bono acknowledged them both during "Mothers of the Disappeared" and at the end of "Miss Sarajevo".