one

U2 were on the verge of breaking up when this transcendent song was improvised in the studio. The band was divided over the direction their sound was taking during the recording of 'Achtung Baby'. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. wanted to stay true to their roots while Bono and the Edge were trying to bring in elements of the industrial dance music that had captured their attention. There was a lot of bad feeling over how the sessions were going. While recording at Hansa Studios in Berlin, Edge decided to play some chords that on acoustic guitar that had come out of a jam session to see how they sounded. Everyone got excited and started playing the song. 

Bono says, "The melody, the structure, the whole thing was done in fifteen minutes". Edge recalls, "At the instant we were recording it, I got a very strong sense of its power. We were all playing together in the big recording room, a huge, eerie ballroom full of ghosts of the war, and everything fell into place. It was a reassuring moment, when everyone finally went, 'oh great, this album has started.' It's the reason you're in a band - when the spirit descends upon you and you create something truly affecting. 'One' is an incredibly moving piece. It hits straight into the heart."

The song went through various mutations with different arrangements and overdubs when the band retured to Dublin, during which time the acoustic guitar was taken out, some lyrics were changed, and other guitar parts were added. 'One' has become a signature song for the band. The single went to number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, number seven in the UK, number four in Australia, number three in New Zealand, and hit number one in Canada, Ireland, and on the US Billboard Modern Rock and Album Rock charts. Three different videos were produced for the song with three different directors.






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Anton Corbijn


Mark Pellington



Phil Joanou



Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame
You say...

One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
One love
We get to share it
Leaves you baby if you
Don't care for it

Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it's...

Too late
Tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...

Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head

Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Hurt each other
Then we do it again
You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other

One...life

One