ans ; he grunts ; he exhales audibly ; he allows his voice to crack " ) as well as timing by his usage of rubato to slightly offset the notes he sings from the beat .   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 . After the third chorus , the song 's outro is played , the instrumentation reverting to the same state as it was in the introduction , with a six @-@ note guitar arpeggio played against sustained synthesiser notes .   = = Lyrics = =   The lyrics were inspired by a story that Bono heard about the streets of Belfast , Northern Ireland , where a person 's religion and income are evident by the street they live on . He contrasted this with the anonymity he felt when visiting Ethiopia , saying : " ... the guy in the song recognizes this contrast and thinks about a world where there aren 't such divisions , a place where the streets have no name . To me , that 's the way a great rock ' n ' roll concert should be : a place where everyone comes together ... Maybe that 's the dream of all art : to break down the barriers and the divisions between people and touch upon the things that matter the most to us all . " Bono wrote the lyrics while on a humanitarian visit to Ethiopia with his wife , Ali Hewson ; he first wrote them down on an airsickness bag while staying in a village .   According to him , the song is ostensibly about " Transcendence , elevation , whatever you want to call it . " Bono , who compared many of his lyrics prior to The Joshua Tree to " sketches " , said that " ' 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 . "   The open @-@ ended nature of the lyrics has led to many interpretations . Journalist Michael Campbell believed the lyrics send " a message of hope " and wish for a " world that is not divided by class , wealth , race , or any other arbitrary criterion " . With regard to the place Bono was referring to in the song , he said , " I 'm not sure , really , about that . I used to think it was Belfast ... " Journalist Niall Stokes believes the title was influenced by Bono 's and his wife Ali 's visit to Ethiopia as volunteer aid @-@ workers . Bono has expressed mixed opinions about the open @-@ ended lyrics : " I can look at it now and recognize that [ the song ] has one of the most banal couplets in the history of pop music . But it also contains some of the biggest ideas . In a curious way , that seems to work . If you get any way heavy about these things , you don 't communicate . But if you 're flip or throwaway about it , then you do . That 's one of the paradoxes I 've come to terms with . "   = = Release = =   Originally , the third single from The Joshua Tree was meant to be the song " Red Hill Mining Town " , but " Where the Streets Have No Name " was released instead , in August 1987 . The single was released on 7 @-@ inch , 12 @-@ inch , cassette and CD single formats . Three B @-@ sides were featured on the single , including " Race Against Time " , " Silver and Gold " , and " Sweetest Thing " , except for the 7 @-@ inch release , which only featured the latter two tracks . The 12 @-@ inch single featured " Race Against Time " on side A of the record ( despite being a " B @-@ side " ) , and the cassette single featured all four tracks on both sides of the tape . Although not as successful as the album 's first two singles , the song did chart well . In the U.S. , the song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 on the Album Rock Tracks charts . The song reached number four on the UK Singles Chart , and it topped the Irish Singles Chart .   = = = Music video = = =   The video begins with an aerial shot of a block in Los Angeles , and clips of radio broadcasts are heard with disc jockeys stating that U2 is planning on performing a concert downtown and expecting crowds of 30 @,@ 000 people . Police show up to the set and inform the band 's crew
ans Ġ; Ġhe Ġgr unts Ġ; Ġhe Ġexh ales Ġaud ibly Ġ; Ġhe Ġallows Ġhis Ġvoice Ġto Ġcrack Ġ" Ġ) Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġtiming Ġby Ġhis Ġusage Ġof Ġrub ato Ġto Ġslightly Ġoffset Ġthe Ġnotes Ġhe Ġsings Ġfrom Ġthe Ġbeat Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThis Ġdevelopment Ġreaches Ġa Ġclimax Ġduring Ġthe Ġfirst Ġchorus Ġat Ġthe Ġline Ġ" Ġburning Ġdown Ġlove Ġ" Ġ( ĠA ĠâĢĵ ĠG ĠâĢĵ ĠF ĠâĻ ¯ ĠâĢĵ ĠD Ġ) Ġ; Ġthe Ġmelody Ġprogresses Ġthrough Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġscale Ġdegrees Ġthat Ġlead Ġto Ġthe Ġhighest Ġnote Ġin Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġthe ĠA 4 Ġat Ġ" Ġburning Ġ" Ġ. ĠIn Ġlater Ġch or uses Ġ, ĠBon o Ġsings Ġ" Ġblown Ġby Ġthe Ġwind Ġ" Ġwith Ġthe Ġsame Ġmelody Ġ, Ġstretching Ġthe Ġsame Ġnote Ġeven Ġlonger Ġ. ĠAfter Ġthe Ġthird Ġchorus Ġ, Ġthe Ġsong Ġ' s Ġout ro Ġis Ġplayed Ġ, Ġthe Ġinstrument ation Ġrever ting Ġto Ġthe Ġsame Ġstate Ġas Ġit Ġwas Ġin Ġthe Ġintroduction Ġ, Ġwith Ġa Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġnote Ġguitar Ġar pe gg io Ġplayed Ġagainst Ġsustained Ġsynthes iser Ġnotes Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠL yrics Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġlyrics Ġwere Ġinspired Ġby Ġa Ġstory Ġthat ĠBon o Ġheard Ġabout Ġthe Ġstreets Ġof ĠBelfast Ġ, ĠNorthern ĠIreland Ġ, Ġwhere Ġa Ġperson Ġ' s Ġreligion Ġand Ġincome Ġare Ġevident Ġby Ġthe Ġstreet Ġthey Ġlive Ġon Ġ. ĠHe Ġcontrasted Ġthis Ġwith Ġthe Ġanonymity Ġhe Ġfelt Ġwhen Ġvisiting ĠEthiopia Ġ, Ġsaying Ġ: Ġ" Ġ... Ġthe Ġguy Ġin Ġthe Ġsong Ġrecognizes Ġthis Ġcontrast Ġand Ġthinks Ġabout Ġa Ġworld Ġwhere Ġthere Ġaren Ġ' t Ġsuch Ġdivisions Ġ, Ġa Ġplace Ġwhere Ġthe Ġstreets Ġhave Ġno Ġname Ġ. ĠTo Ġme Ġ, Ġthat Ġ' s Ġthe Ġway Ġa Ġgreat Ġrock Ġ' Ġn Ġ' Ġroll Ġconcert Ġshould Ġbe Ġ: Ġa Ġplace Ġwhere Ġeveryone Ġcomes Ġtogether Ġ... ĠMaybe Ġthat Ġ' s Ġthe Ġdream Ġof Ġall Ġart Ġ: Ġto Ġbreak Ġdown Ġthe Ġbarriers Ġand Ġthe Ġdivisions Ġbetween Ġpeople Ġand Ġtouch Ġupon Ġthe Ġthings Ġthat Ġmatter Ġthe Ġmost Ġto Ġus Ġall Ġ. Ġ" ĠBon o Ġwrote Ġthe Ġlyrics Ġwhile Ġon Ġa Ġhumanitarian Ġvisit Ġto ĠEthiopia Ġwith Ġhis Ġwife Ġ, ĠAli ĠHew son Ġ; Ġhe Ġfirst Ġwrote Ġthem Ġdown Ġon Ġan Ġairs ick ness Ġbag Ġwhile Ġstaying Ġin Ġa Ġvillage Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAccording Ġto Ġhim Ġ, Ġthe Ġsong Ġis Ġostensibly Ġabout Ġ" ĠTrans cend ence Ġ, Ġelevation Ġ, Ġwhatever Ġyou Ġwant Ġto Ġcall Ġit Ġ. Ġ" ĠBon o Ġ, Ġwho Ġcompared Ġmany Ġof Ġhis Ġlyrics Ġprior Ġto ĠThe ĠJoshua ĠTree Ġto Ġ" Ġsketches Ġ" Ġ, Ġsaid Ġthat Ġ" Ġ' ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ' Ġis Ġmore Ġlike Ġthe ĠU 2 Ġof Ġold Ġthan Ġany Ġof Ġthe Ġother Ġsongs Ġon Ġthe ĠLP Ġ, Ġbecause Ġit Ġ' s Ġa Ġsketch ĠâĢĶ ĠI Ġwas Ġjust Ġtrying Ġto Ġsketch Ġa Ġlocation Ġ, Ġmaybe Ġa Ġspiritual Ġlocation Ġ, Ġmaybe Ġa Ġromantic Ġlocation Ġ. ĠI Ġwas Ġtrying Ġto Ġsketch Ġa Ġfeeling Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġopen Ġ@ - @ Ġended Ġnature Ġof Ġthe Ġlyrics Ġhas Ġled Ġto Ġmany Ġinterpretations Ġ. ĠJournal ist ĠMichael ĠCampbell Ġbelieved Ġthe Ġlyrics Ġsend Ġ" Ġa Ġmessage Ġof Ġhope Ġ" Ġand Ġwish Ġfor Ġa Ġ" Ġworld Ġthat Ġis Ġnot Ġdivided Ġby Ġclass Ġ, Ġwealth Ġ, Ġrace Ġ, Ġor Ġany Ġother Ġarbitrary Ġcriterion Ġ" Ġ. ĠWith Ġregard Ġto Ġthe Ġplace ĠBon o Ġwas Ġreferring Ġto Ġin Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġhe Ġsaid Ġ, Ġ" ĠI Ġ' m Ġnot Ġsure Ġ, Ġreally Ġ, Ġabout Ġthat Ġ. ĠI Ġused Ġto Ġthink Ġit Ġwas ĠBelfast Ġ... Ġ" ĠJournal ist ĠNi all ĠSt okes Ġbelieves Ġthe Ġtitle Ġwas Ġinfluenced Ġby ĠBon o Ġ' s Ġand Ġhis Ġwife ĠAli Ġ' s Ġvisit Ġto ĠEthiopia Ġas Ġvolunteer Ġaid Ġ@ - @ Ġworkers Ġ. ĠBon o Ġhas Ġexpressed Ġmixed Ġopinions Ġabout Ġthe Ġopen Ġ@ - @ Ġended Ġlyrics Ġ: Ġ" ĠI Ġcan Ġlook Ġat Ġit Ġnow Ġand Ġrecognize Ġthat Ġ[ Ġthe Ġsong Ġ] Ġhas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġmost Ġban al Ġcouple ts Ġin Ġthe Ġhistory Ġof Ġpop Ġmusic Ġ. ĠBut Ġit Ġalso Ġcontains Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġbiggest Ġideas Ġ. ĠIn Ġa Ġcurious Ġway Ġ, Ġthat Ġseems Ġto Ġwork Ġ. ĠIf Ġyou Ġget Ġany Ġway Ġheavy Ġabout Ġthese Ġthings Ġ, Ġyou Ġdon Ġ' t Ġcommunicate Ġ. ĠBut Ġif Ġyou Ġ' re Ġflip Ġor Ġthrow away Ġabout Ġit Ġ, Ġthen Ġyou Ġdo Ġ. ĠThat Ġ' s Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġparadox es ĠI Ġ' ve Ġcome Ġto Ġterms Ġwith Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRelease Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠOriginally Ġ, Ġthe Ġthird Ġsingle Ġfrom ĠThe ĠJoshua ĠTree Ġwas Ġmeant Ġto Ġbe Ġthe Ġsong Ġ" ĠRed ĠHill ĠMining ĠTown Ġ" Ġ, Ġbut Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġwas Ġreleased Ġinstead Ġ, Ġin ĠAugust Ġ1987 Ġ. ĠThe Ġsingle Ġwas Ġreleased Ġon Ġ7 Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġ, Ġ12 Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġ, Ġcassette Ġand ĠCD Ġsingle Ġformats Ġ. ĠThree ĠB Ġ@ - @ Ġsides Ġwere Ġfeatured Ġon Ġthe Ġsingle Ġ, Ġincluding Ġ" ĠRace ĠAgainst ĠTime Ġ" Ġ, Ġ" ĠSilver Ġand ĠGold Ġ" Ġ, Ġand Ġ" ĠSweet est ĠThing Ġ" Ġ, Ġexcept Ġfor Ġthe Ġ7 Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġrelease Ġ, Ġwhich Ġonly Ġfeatured Ġthe Ġlatter Ġtwo Ġtracks Ġ. ĠThe Ġ12 Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġsingle Ġfeatured Ġ" ĠRace ĠAgainst ĠTime Ġ" Ġon Ġside ĠA Ġof Ġthe Ġrecord Ġ( Ġdespite Ġbeing Ġa Ġ" ĠB Ġ@ - @ Ġside Ġ" Ġ) Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġcassette Ġsingle Ġfeatured Ġall Ġfour Ġtracks Ġon Ġboth Ġsides Ġof Ġthe Ġtape Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġnot Ġas Ġsuccessful Ġas Ġthe Ġalbum Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġtwo Ġsingles Ġ, Ġthe Ġsong Ġdid Ġchart Ġwell Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe ĠU . S . Ġ, Ġthe Ġsong Ġpeaked Ġat Ġnumber Ġ13 Ġon Ġthe ĠBillboard ĠHot Ġ100 Ġand Ġnumber Ġ11 Ġon Ġthe ĠAlbum ĠRock ĠTracks Ġcharts Ġ. ĠThe Ġsong Ġreached Ġnumber Ġfour Ġon Ġthe ĠUK ĠSing les ĠChart Ġ, Ġand Ġit Ġtopped Ġthe ĠIrish ĠSing les ĠChart Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMusic Ġvideo Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġvideo Ġbegins Ġwith Ġan Ġaerial Ġshot Ġof Ġa Ġblock Ġin ĠLos ĠAngeles Ġ, Ġand Ġclips Ġof Ġradio Ġbroadcasts Ġare Ġheard Ġwith Ġdisc Ġj oc keys Ġstating Ġthat ĠU 2 Ġis Ġplanning Ġon Ġperforming Ġa Ġconcert Ġdowntown Ġand Ġexpecting Ġcrowds Ġof Ġ30 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġpeople Ġ. ĠPolice Ġshow Ġup Ġto Ġthe Ġset Ġand Ġinform Ġthe Ġband Ġ' s Ġcrew