Where the Streets Have No Name
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| "Where the Streets Have No Name" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by U2 | ||
| from the album The Joshua Tree | ||
| B-side(s) | "Silver and Gold" "The Sweetest Thing" "Race Against Time" |
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| Released | August 1987 | |
| Format | 7", 12", CD, cassette | |
| Recorded | Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland, 1986 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 4:46 (single version) 5:37 (album version) |
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| Label | Island | |
| Producer(s) | Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| U2 singles chronology | ||
| "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (1987) |
"Where the Streets Have No Name" (1987) |
"In God's Country" (1987) |
| The Joshua Tree track listing | ||
| N/A | "Where the Streets Have No Name" (1) |
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (2) |
| The Best of 1980-1990 track listing | ||
| "Bad" (6) |
"Where the Streets Have No Name" (7) |
"I Will Follow" (8) |
| U218 Singles track listing | ||
| "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (8) |
"Where the Streets Have No Name" (9) |
"Sweetest Thing" (10) |
"Where the Streets Have No Name" is the opening track and third single from U2's 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. It has become one of the band's most popular songs.
Contents |
[edit] The song
[edit] Recording "Streets"
"Where the Streets Have No Name" had a particularly difficult birth: it was almost rejected by the band, and nearly did not survive until the album's release.[1]
Prior to the recording of The Joshua Tree, The Edge came up with the famous guitar and organ introduction. On presenting the idea to the band, bassist Adam Clayton admits that he "perhaps did not fully appreciate the hours of work that had gone into this idea," feeling in particular that the 6/8 time signature of the introduction seemed less like an inspired idea, and really "just seemed like a good way to mess the band up."[citation needed] Clayton now says the song is a pleasure to perform. The process of joining the intro with the song proper became protracted and difficult. After weeks of working on the song,[citation needed] co-producer Brian Eno reportedly ordered his assistant to destroy the master tape of the song while the band was out of the room, although Eno maintains that he simply wanted to start afresh on the track.
[edit] Structure
The album version of "Streets" opens with an instrumental section, starting with chorale-like organ notes; the guitar, bass, and drums fade in near the one-minute mark. This part, following a I-IV-I-IV-vi-V-I chord progression, creates a "wall of sound", as described by Mark Butler, against which the vocals finally emerge after nearly two whole minutes.[1] The instrumentation continues in regular eighth and sixteenth notes, while Bono's vocal performance, in contrast, varies greatly in its timbre, ("he sighs; he moans; he grunts; he exhales audibly; he allows his voice to crack")[1] as well as timing by his usage of rubato to slightly offset the notes he sings from the beat.[1]
This development reaches a climax during the first chorus at the line "burning down love" (A-G-F#-D); the melody progresses through a series of scale degrees that lead to the highest note in the song, the A4 at "burning". In later choruses, Bono sings "blown by the wind" with the same melody, stretching the same note even longer.
[edit] Interpretation
Interpretation of what Bono calls some of his most inane lyrics, includes referencing of Africa and the Kingdom of God.[citation needed] A few years before the recording of the Joshua Tree, during the Ethiopian famine for which Live Aid was a benefit, Bono and his wife Alison Hewson worked for a month in Ethiopia in a refugee camp run by the Christian relief and development organization World Vision. Africa has had a special place in Bono's heart ever since, as can be seen by his constant campaigning on issues of concern to Africa. There is clearly imagery from this African trip in "Where the Streets Have No Name". This is evidenced by the fact that they were "beaten and blown by the wind, and trampled in dust". In this meaning, "when I go there, I go there with you, it's all I can do" is perhaps addressed to Ali.
The second central meaning is of the Kingdom of God. Spirituality comes through in many of U2's songs, and "Streets" is no different. In the first verse of the song Bono states "I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside." He longs to leave his earthly body. When he states "when I go there, I go there with you, it's all I can do," he is talking to God or Jesus, as well as to his wife. In longing for heaven he states, "I want to feel sunlight on my face, I see the dust clouds disappear without a trace. I want to take shelter from the poison rain where the streets have no name." On the Live in Boston DVD, Bono introduces the song from the more spiritual perspective, intoning to the audience, "What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation - a toast to God!", referencing Psalm 116:12-14 in The Message (Bible) translation.
Bono himself also reported that the song was inspired by the social situation in Belfast; in a 1987 interview to Propaganda, the official U2 magazine, Bono stated:
- "'Where the Streets Have No Name' is more like the U2 of old than any of the other songs on the LP, because it’s a sketch — I was just trying to sketch a location, maybe a spiritual location, maybe a romantic location. I was trying to sketch a feeling. I often feel very claustrophobic in a city, a feeling of wanting to break out of that city and a feeling of wanting to go somewhere where the values of the city and the values of our society don’t hold you down. An interesting story that someone told me once is that in Belfast, by what street someone lives on you can tell not only their religion but tell how much money they're making — literally by which side of the road they live on, because the further up the hill the more expensive the houses become. You can almost tell what the people are earning by the name of the street they live on and what side of that street they live on. That said something to me, and so I started writing about a place where the streets have no name..."
In Nicaragua, it is rumored that the song was partly inspired by U2's visit to its capital, Managua, whose streets are unnamed.[2]
[edit] Live performances
[edit] Rooftop performance
The song was first played on the rooftop of a Los Angeles liquor store March 27, 1987 in an ad hoc concert. The music video was filmed with footage from this event, including the police shutting the surprise concert down due to traffic concerns. The stunt was viewed as an homage to The Beatles when they played their own rooftop show on the roof of Apple Records.
[edit] Concerts
Since its concert introduction, Where The Streets Have No Name has been played no less than 20 times per U2 tour, making it one of the most frequently played U2 songs. There are slight variations in the live presentation to the recorded version; the final verse is played differently, and Clayton plays a particularly striking melodic bassline in the chorus, reminiscent of the style of Peter Hook, along the outline of a guitar part on the record. The Edge has always used a Fender Stratocaster of some sort for this song. On the Joshua Tree Tour and Vertigo Tour, he used his black with black pickguard 70s-era Strat. On the Lovetown Tour, he used a Lace Sensor pickup-equipped yellow Strat with a black pickguard. On the Zoo TV, Popmart Tour and Elevation Tours, he has used a 60s-era Strat that is black with a white pickguard.
The emotional organ/guitar intro, along with the song's vivid imagery, have combined to make "Streets" the most exciting and most-loved live song among the U2 faithful. Although the song was released over 20 years ago, it is still played at every U2 concert, and was even performed during the Super Bowl in early 2002. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the playing of this song created one of the most emotional moments in Super Bowl history. As the band performed this song, the names of the people killed in the attacks rolled up a screen in the background. The song ended with Bono opening up his jacket, which was lined with the American Flag.
The song is also played at Toronto Blue Jays games. Before the bottom of the ninth inning begins, or top of the ninth if the home team is leading, the song is mixed with a tune from the Jock Jams album. The song is played without lyrics (in instrumental form) and a man over the announce system encourages Blue Jays fans to "get loud" because "we are Toronto", hence the tradition since June of 2003 of the we are Toronto rally. The song never fails to get a big reaction from the crowd, even when the Blue Jays are losing. In April of 2006 the playing of the song was moved to the middle of the eighth inning, while the ninth inning was reserved for free stuff giveaways.
One of the most heralded moments of a U2 concert is when a red background appears - this signifies the appearance of "Streets". This background has appeared on both the TV screens (Joshua Tree Tour to Elevation Tour) and in the form of flashing lights (Vertigo Tour). The red background has not appeared on only a few occasions - notably at the Super Bowl performance where the names of those who perished in the events of September 11th scrolled behind the band (see above picture), and on the first few concerts of the Vertigo Tour, where scrolling African flags took its place. It is worth noting that the red background was reinstated in the form of flashing red lights after the first few concerts.
In 2006, Tony Blair said the song was his favorite of all time. [3]
[edit] Track listings
- "Where the Streets Have No Name" (Single Version) (4:46)
- "Silver and Gold" (4:40)
- "The Sweetest Thing" (3:03)
- "Race Against Time" (4:03)
This was the most common 12" release. The 7" version omitted "Race Against Time".
"The Sweetest Thing" made its first appearance on this single, as an outtake from The Joshua Tree. The song would later be rerecorded and released as a single from the band's 1998, The Best of 1980-1990.
The version of "Where The Streets Have No Name" featured on the single is a different mix from the album. The single version contains additional backing vocals.
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "Where the Streets Have No Name" | UK Singles Chart | #4 |
| 1987 | "Where the Streets Have No Name" | US Billboard Hot 100 | #13 |
| 1987 | "Where the Streets Have No Name" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | #11 |
| 1987 | "Where the Streets Have No Name" | Canada | #14 |
[edit] Covers
[edit] "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)"
In 1991, UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys covered "Streets" to accompany "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?", the third single from their 1990 album, Behaviour, as a double A-side in the UK (both singles were released separately in the U.S.). The band have said that they thought the guitars in the original sounded similar to a sequencer.[2] In this version, "Streets" is turned into a medley with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", the 1960s single by Frankie Valli, though in an arrangement informed by the 1981 disco version of the song by Boystown Gang rather than the original.
This version has been called, in its intent, a subversion of the original, denoted in a number of ways by its musical arrangement. In contrast to the U2 version's instrumental build-up, the Pet Shop Boys version opens abruptly with synthesized and sampled noises and a drum machine. The musical climax of the song is also shadowed by other elements: a background vocal sample of "burning down love" is played right at the start, and synthesized horns erupt with even higher notes immediately following each chorus. Singer Neil Tennant performs the lyrics with no vocal exertion or stresses, in contrast to Bono. In addition, at the transition between "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", Tennant sings the two lines one after the other, with no change in pitch — pointing out the similarities in the two songs.[1]
The pairing of this version with "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?", a song criticizing the insincere humanitarian messages of a number of pop stars during the 1980s and the institutionalization of rock and roll,[3] also adds to the subversive message.[1]
The Pet Shop Boys have performed the medley live as recently as during their 2006 Fundamental tour, as well as at the Moscow Live 8 concert of 2005.
[edit] Others
Vanessa Carlton recorded a cover version of the song for her second album, Harmonium (2004). The song was not included on the original release of the album in the United States, but it was made available on the Japanese version of the album and as an MP3 download on websites such as iTunes.
Chris Tomlin covered the song for the album In the Name of Love, on which 13 Christian artists drew attention to Africa by covering popular U2 songs.
MercyMe has covered this song in some live shows. It is included on their Mercy Me Live CD/DVD which was released couple years ago.
Flea (Bass), Brad Wilk (Drums), Tom Morello (Acoustic Guitar), Pete Yorn (Guitar/Vocals), Tim Walker (Electric Guitar), Serj Tankian (Vocals), Maynard James Keenan (Vocals), Jonny Polonsky (Keyboard) performed Where The Streets Have No Name at a performance in Avalon in Los Angeles. The concert was a benefit to raise money for the Axis of Justice.
Kane covered the song on their live CD/DVD album With or Without You
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e Butler, Mark (January 2003), "Taking it seriously: intertextuality and authenticity in two covers by the Pet Shop Boys", Popular Music 22(1): 1-19, ISSN 0261-143http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/blair%20chooses%20u2%20classic%20as%20favourite%20song_10128190
- ^ Heath, Chris (2001). "Where the streets have no name (I can't take my eyes off you". In Behaviour / Further Listening 1990-1991 [CD liner notes]. London: Pet Shop Boys Partnership.
- ^ Heath, Chris (2001). "How can you expect to be taken seriously?". In Behaviour / Further Listening 1990-1991 [CD liner notes]. London: Pet Shop Boys Partnership.
