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"Peace On Earth" is the eighth track from U2's 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind. It was written about the Real IRA Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland on 15 August 1998.
The song lists the names of people (Sean, Julia, Gareth, Anne, and Breda) killed in the Omagh bombing. Similarly, inspiration for the lyric, "She never got to say goodbye / To see the colour in his eye / Now he's in the dirt" comes from the funeral of James Barker, another victim of the bombing. The Irish Times quoted his mother as stating, "I never realised how green his eyes were." [1]
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, "Peace on Earth" took on additional meaning and consequently, was used as an encore song in the Elevation Tour, coupled with "Walk On". The two songs were similarly paired during the band's performance on the telethon America: A Tribute to Heroes.
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