One (U2 song)

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"One"
"One" cover
Single by U2
from the album Achtung Baby
Released March 1992
Format CD, cassette, 7", 12"
Recorded Hansa Ton Studios, Berlin, Germany and Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland 1990
Genre Rock
Length 4:36
Label Island
Writer(s) Bono (lyrics), U2 (music)
Producer(s) Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno
Chart positions
U2 singles chronology
"Mysterious Ways"
(1991)		 "One"
(1992)		 "Even Better Than the Real Thing"
(1992)
Achtung Baby track listing
"Even Better Than the Real Thing"
(2)		 "One"
(3)		 "Until the End of the World"
(4)


The Best of 1990-2000 track listing
"Electrical Storm" (William Orbit Mix)
(4)		 "One"
(5)		 "Miss Sarajevo"
(6)


U218 Singles track listing
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
(11)		 "One"
(12)		 "Desire"
(13)
"One"
"One" cover
Single by Mary J. Blige and U2
from the album The Breakthrough
Released April 2006
Format CD
Genre R&B
Length 4:03 (edit) / 4:21 (album)
Label Geffen/Island
Writer(s) Bono (lyrics), U2 (music)
Producer(s) Ron Fair
Chart positions
Mary J. Blige chronology
"Be Without You"
(2005)		 "One"
(2006)		 "Enough Cryin"
(2006)
U2 single chronology
"Original of the Species"
(2005)		 "One"
(Mary J. Blige and U2)
(2006)		 "The Saints Are Coming"
(with Green Day)
(2006)

"One" is the third single from U2's 1991 album, Achtung Baby, and was released in 1992. It is considered one of the greatest U2 songs. In 2006, it was voted as having Britain's Best Lyric, as voted by the public of the United Kingdom. The song also inspired the creation of the ONE Campaign[citation needed].

Contents

[edit] Creation

During the recording of Achtung Baby, tensions in the band began to rise over the direction of the album. Bono and The Edge favored electronica and dance music explorations, while Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton did not. U2 was on the brink of breaking up when the band rallied around a riff The Edge was trying to write for the bridge of "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)." It inspired the band to write "One," and it changed the band's outlook on the album, helping bring a renewed sense of optimism towards the material they had already recorded. Leaving Berlin on a high note, the band was able to complete the rest of the album in Dublin. It is widely considered, by the band and fans, to be the song that saved U2.

[edit] Meaning

"One" has many debated meanings. The ambiguity is likely the main aspect that popularizes the song, allowing for many different interpretations. There are 3 video versions to the song which add to the discussions. One of them suggests that it's about a gay son confessing to his father that he is HIV-positive—largely assumed because of the content of the third video, directed by Anton Corbijn, in which Bono (dressed in drag) sings the song to his own father. It is filmed in Berlin and has footage of the band driving in Trabant cars. Also, a large amount of sales from the single went to AIDS charities. The first version has footage of blooming flowers and buffalos, interspersed with numerous black title cards featuring the word "one" in white lettering, depicted in numerous languages. The buffaloes in the video originate from a photo by David Wojnarowicz, a gay artist who died of AIDS. The photo is on the cover of the single. Yet another version of the video shows Bono in a bar, smoking a cheroot and drinking beer. This video with moody lighting and camera angles has been criticized for looking too much like a Heineken commercial, though it proved to be popular with fans.

The most basic interpretation suggests the song to be about two people who love each other, but hurt each other too much to continue with their relationship, which is a prominent lyrical theme. The Edge in Q magazine said, "I often come across people who've told me they played it at their wedding, And I think, 'Have you listened to the lyrics? It's not that kind of a song'". Others interpret the song as achieving oneness in the spiritual sense, while yet another point of view suggests that it's about the reunification of East and West Germany and the subsequent, slow healing of past wounds as the Berlin Wall collapses. This particular one is popular due to the time the band spent in Germany during the album's creation.

However, the most popular interpretation suggests that the song is about Bono's lifelong relationship with his father, based on their shared experiences following the death of Bono's mother when he was 14.

[edit] Covers and references

[edit] By the band

Since its first live appearance in 1992, the song has been played at every concert of the band's following tours up to the present day. For instance, U2 performed "One" along with "Beautiful Day" and "Vertigo" at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London in 2005.

  • The "Miss Sarajevo" single contains a different live version of the song, recorded at the Pavarotti and Friends concert in Modena, backed by an orchestra.

[edit] By others

  • The song "(I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be) Free - One" by the Lighthouse Family is related to this song. This band does use some of U2's "One" lyrics. This song was released in 2001 and reached to #6 in the UK charts. This song is also in the album "Whatever Gets You Through The Day", which has reached platinum status.
  • Joe Cocker covered "One" on his 2005 album, Heart & Soul. It also featured as a regular song during his set on his Heart & Soul World Tour.
  • Due to its gentle disposition, the song is often found played as a part of incidental background music in shopping malls and places of gathering. It is also known as the love theme in the TV series Melrose Place — a fun fact considering Edge's comment on its lyrical suitability to the subject matter.

[edit] Accolades

  • The List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time places it at #36 (the highest position for a U2 song and the second highest position for a song of the 1990s), while a similar Q magazine poll has the song topping the chart.
  • "One" was recently voted the 5th most popular song of all time, in a poll conducted by Sony.[citation needed]
  • The popular Israeli radio station Galgalatz ranked "One" as the best song of the 1990s.
  • In April 2006 it was voted as having Britain's number one lyric- "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers" - by a VH1 poll.[1]
  • In a recent poll, the listeners of the Portuguese radio RFM voted "One" as the best song ever.

[edit] U2 track listing

[edit] 7": Island IS515 (UK)

  1. "One" (Album Version) – 4:36
  2. "Lady With the Spinning Head" (UV1) – 3:54

[edit] CD: Island CID515 (UK)

  1. "One" (Album Version) – 4:36
  2. "Lady With the Spinning Head" (UV1) – 3:54
  3. "Satellite of Love" (4:00)
  4. "Night and Day" (Steel String Remix) – 7:00

[edit] 12": Island 12IS515 (UK)

  1. "One" (Album Version) – 4:36
  2. "Lady With the Spinning Head" (UV1) – 3:54
  3. "Satellite of Love" – 4:00

[edit] Mary J. Blige version

[edit] History

After being invited to join the group on stage at a New York concert in 2005, Mary J. Blige performed the track with U2 and received a standing ovation. The song was then recorded featuring Blige on lead vocals, with Bono supplying additional vocals and the band performing the music.

"One" is featured on Mary J. Blige's multi-platinum album The Breakthrough, released in late 2005. It was released as the second international single in April 2006, having already been featured heavily on BBC Radio 1's playlist, and it has been a staple record on Capital FM's playlist since late January 2006. In May 2006, Mary performed the song at the finale of American Idol with finalist Elliott Yamin, ahead of its full release to American radio. It was also used by FOX for its end-of-season montage after game five of the 2006 World Series.

On December 31, 2006, "One" was announced by BBC Radio 1 to be the thirty-fifth highest-selling single of 2006 in the UK.[1]

It was also nominated for the Grammy Award in Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in December 2006.

[edit] Mary J. Blige track listings

Mary J. Blige's "One" single had two releases, both featuring the radio edit of the song. The first single release featured a live B-side, and the second single featured both a live and studio B-side, as well as a link to watch the "One" video online. The B-sides were songs by Blige only and did not feature U2.

[edit] CD 1

  1. "One" (Radio Edit) – 4:03
  2. "Can't Hide from Love" (Live) – 3:51

[edit] CD 2

  1. "One" (Radio Edit) – 4:03
  2. "I'm Going Down" (Live) – 3:25
  3. "My Life '05" – 6:24

[edit] Bank of America controversy

In late 2006, a Bank of America employee sang "One" with lyrics about the Bank of America and MBNA merger. The video became an internet phenomenon, as bloggers and others ridiculed the performance (sung by Ethan Chandler, a Manhattan banking center manager) calling the performance "stunningly misguided."[2] Universal Music Group, the copyright owner of the song, posted a cease and desist letter directed at Bank of America in the comments section of Stereogum, one of the blogs that posted the video.[3] Bank of America claimed the video was not a viral marketing ploy.

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] U2 version

Chart (1992) Peak
Position
Australian Singles Chart 4
UK Singles Chart 7
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 10
U.S. Modern Rock Tracks 1
U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
U.S. Adult Contemporary 24
U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 44

[edit] Mary J. Blige & U2 Version

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Norway Singles Top 20 1
Austria Singles Top 75 1
Belgium UltraTop 50 6
Dutch Top 40 2
Dutch Mega Top 50 2
European Hot 100 Singles Chart 3
German Singles Chart 6
Czech IFPI Chart 28
Irish Singles Chart 2
France Singles Top 100 35
Spain Los 40 Principales 1
U.K. Download Chart 6
U.K. Top 75 Singles Chart 2
U.K. Top 40 R&B Singles Chart 3
U.S. Hot 100 86
U.S. Pop 100 64
U.S. Hot Digital Songs 60
U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 36
U.S. Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks 37


[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/top40_2006.shtml Official UK top 40 singles of 2006
  2. ^ One Bank. Retrieved on January 3, 2007.
  3. ^ Aspan, Mario. "Lyrics Celebrating Bank Merger Impress Only Copyright Lawyer", New York Times, 2006-11-20.
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