 " Where the Streets Have No Name " was praised by critics and became a commercial success , peaking at number thirteen in the US , number fourteen in Canada , number ten in the Netherlands , and number four in the United Kingdom . The song has remained a staple of their live act since the song debuted in 1987 on The Joshua Tree Tour . The song was performed on a Los Angeles rooftop for the filming of its music video , which won a Grammy Award for Best Performance Music Video .   = = Writing and recording = =   The music for " Where the Streets Have No Name " originated from a demo that guitarist The Edge composed the night before the group resumed The Joshua Tree sessions . In an upstairs room at Melbeach House — his newly purchased home — The Edge used a four @-@ track tape machine to record an arrangement of keyboards , bass , guitar , and a drum machine . Realising that the album sessions were approaching the end and that the band were short on exceptional live songs , The Edge wanted to " conjure up the ultimate U2 live @-@ song " , so he imagined what he would like to hear at a future U2 show if he were a fan . After finishing the rough mix , he felt he had come up with " the most amazing guitar part and song of [ his ] life " . With no one in the house to share the demo with , The Edge recalls dancing around and punching the air in celebration .   Although the band liked the demo , it was difficult for them to record the song . Bassist Adam Clayton said , " At the time it sounded like a foreign language , whereas now we understand how it works " . The arrangement , with two time signature shifts and frequent chord changes , was rehearsed many times , but the group struggled to get a performance they liked . According to co @-@ producer Daniel Lanois , " that was the science project song . I remember having this massive schoolhouse blackboard , as we call them . I was holding a pointer , like a college professor , walking the band through the chord changes like a fucking nerd . It was ridiculous . " Co @-@ producer Brian Eno estimates that half of the album sessions were spent trying to record a suitable version of " Where the Streets Have No Name " . The band worked on a single take for weeks , but as Eno explained , that particular version had a lot of problems with it and the group continued trying to fix it up . Through all of their work , they had gradually replaced each instrument take until nothing remained from the original performance .   So much time had been spent on " screwdriver work " that Eno thought it would be best to start from scratch . His idea was to " stage an accident " and have the song 's tapes erased . He said that this was not to force abandonment of the song , but rather that it would be more effective to start again with a fresh performance . At one point , Eno had the tapes cued up and ready to be recorded over , but this erasure never took place ; according to engineer Flood , fellow engineer Pat McCarthy returned to the control room and upon seeing Eno ready to erase the tapes , dropped the tray of tea he was carrying and physically restrained Eno .   The studio version of the song was compiled from several different takes . It was one of several songs mixed by Steve Lillywhite in the final months of recording The Joshua Tree . Drummer Larry Mullen , Jr. later said of the song , " It took so long to get that song right , it was difficult for us to make any sense of it . It only became a truly great song through playing live . On the record , musically , it 's not half the song it is live . "   = = Composition = =   " Where the Streets Have No Name " is played at a tempo of 126 beats per minute . The introduction and outro are played in a 3 / 4 time signature , while the remainder of the song is in a common 4 / 4 signature . The songs opens with an instrumental section , starting with chorale @-@ like sustained synthesiser notes . The guitar fades in after 42 seconds ; this part consists of a repeated " chiming " six @-@ note arpeggio . A " dotted eighth " delay effect is used to " play " each note in the arpeggio twice , thus creating a rich sound . The bass and drums enter at 1 : 10 .   The introduction , 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 emerge after nearly two minutes . The guitar part played for the remainder of the song features The Edge strumming percussive sixteenth notes . The bass and drums continue in regular eighth and sixteenth notes , respectively , while Bono 's vocal performance , in contrast , varies greatly in its timbre , ( " he sighs ; he mo
Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġwas Ġpraised Ġby Ġcritics Ġand Ġbecame Ġa Ġcommercial Ġsuccess Ġ, Ġpe aking Ġat Ġnumber Ġthirteen Ġin Ġthe ĠUS Ġ, Ġnumber Ġfourteen Ġin ĠCanada Ġ, Ġnumber Ġten Ġin Ġthe ĠNetherlands Ġ, Ġand Ġnumber Ġfour Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠKingdom Ġ. ĠThe Ġsong Ġhas Ġremained Ġa Ġstaple Ġof Ġtheir Ġlive Ġact Ġsince Ġthe Ġsong Ġdebuted Ġin Ġ1987 Ġon ĠThe ĠJoshua ĠTree ĠTour Ġ. ĠThe Ġsong Ġwas Ġperformed Ġon Ġa ĠLos ĠAngeles Ġrooftop Ġfor Ġthe Ġfilming Ġof Ġits Ġmusic Ġvideo Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwon Ġa ĠGrammy ĠAward Ġfor ĠBest ĠPerformance ĠMusic ĠVideo Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠWriting Ġand Ġrecording Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmusic Ġfor Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġoriginated Ġfrom Ġa Ġdemo Ġthat Ġguitarist ĠThe ĠEdge Ġcomposed Ġthe Ġnight Ġbefore Ġthe Ġgroup Ġresumed ĠThe ĠJoshua ĠTree Ġsessions Ġ. ĠIn Ġan Ġupstairs Ġroom Ġat ĠMel be ach ĠHouse ĠâĢĶ Ġhis Ġnewly Ġpurchased Ġhome ĠâĢĶ ĠThe ĠEdge Ġused Ġa Ġfour Ġ@ - @ Ġtrack Ġtape Ġmachine Ġto Ġrecord Ġan Ġarrangement Ġof Ġkeyboards Ġ, Ġbass Ġ, Ġguitar Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġdrum Ġmachine Ġ. ĠReal ising Ġthat Ġthe Ġalbum Ġsessions Ġwere Ġapproaching Ġthe Ġend Ġand Ġthat Ġthe Ġband Ġwere Ġshort Ġon Ġexceptional Ġlive Ġsongs Ġ, ĠThe ĠEdge Ġwanted Ġto Ġ" Ġconj ure Ġup Ġthe Ġultimate ĠU 2 Ġlive Ġ@ - @ Ġsong Ġ" Ġ, Ġso Ġhe Ġimagined Ġwhat Ġhe Ġwould Ġlike Ġto Ġhear Ġat Ġa Ġfuture ĠU 2 Ġshow Ġif Ġhe Ġwere Ġa Ġfan Ġ. ĠAfter Ġfinishing Ġthe Ġrough Ġmix Ġ, Ġhe Ġfelt Ġhe Ġhad Ġcome Ġup Ġwith Ġ" Ġthe Ġmost Ġamazing Ġguitar Ġpart Ġand Ġsong Ġof Ġ[ Ġhis Ġ] Ġlife Ġ" Ġ. ĠWith Ġno Ġone Ġin Ġthe Ġhouse Ġto Ġshare Ġthe Ġdemo Ġwith Ġ, ĠThe ĠEdge Ġrecalls Ġdancing Ġaround Ġand Ġpunching Ġthe Ġair Ġin Ġcelebration Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġband Ġliked Ġthe Ġdemo Ġ, Ġit Ġwas Ġdifficult Ġfor Ġthem Ġto Ġrecord Ġthe Ġsong Ġ. ĠBass ist ĠAdam ĠClayton Ġsaid Ġ, Ġ" ĠAt Ġthe Ġtime Ġit Ġsounded Ġlike Ġa Ġforeign Ġlanguage Ġ, Ġwhereas Ġnow Ġwe Ġunderstand Ġhow Ġit Ġworks Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġarrangement Ġ, Ġwith Ġtwo Ġtime Ġsignature Ġshifts Ġand Ġfrequent Ġchord Ġchanges Ġ, Ġwas Ġrehears ed Ġmany Ġtimes Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġgroup Ġstruggled Ġto Ġget Ġa Ġperformance Ġthey Ġliked Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġproducer ĠDaniel ĠL ano is Ġ, Ġ" Ġthat Ġwas Ġthe Ġscience Ġproject Ġsong Ġ. ĠI Ġremember Ġhaving Ġthis Ġmassive Ġschool house Ġblack board Ġ, Ġas Ġwe Ġcall Ġthem Ġ. ĠI Ġwas Ġholding Ġa Ġpointer Ġ, Ġlike Ġa Ġcollege Ġprofessor Ġ, Ġwalking Ġthe Ġband Ġthrough Ġthe Ġchord Ġchanges Ġlike Ġa Ġfucking Ġnerd Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġridiculous Ġ. Ġ" ĠCo Ġ@ - @ Ġproducer ĠBrian ĠEn o Ġestimates Ġthat Ġhalf Ġof Ġthe Ġalbum Ġsessions Ġwere Ġspent Ġtrying Ġto Ġrecord Ġa Ġsuitable Ġversion Ġof Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġband Ġworked Ġon Ġa Ġsingle Ġtake Ġfor Ġweeks Ġ, Ġbut Ġas ĠEn o Ġexplained Ġ, Ġthat Ġparticular Ġversion Ġhad Ġa Ġlot Ġof Ġproblems Ġwith Ġit Ġand Ġthe Ġgroup Ġcontinued Ġtrying Ġto Ġfix Ġit Ġup Ġ. ĠThrough Ġall Ġof Ġtheir Ġwork Ġ, Ġthey Ġhad Ġgradually Ġreplaced Ġeach Ġinstrument Ġtake Ġuntil Ġnothing Ġremained Ġfrom Ġthe Ġoriginal Ġperformance Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSo Ġmuch Ġtime Ġhad Ġbeen Ġspent Ġon Ġ" Ġscrew driver Ġwork Ġ" Ġthat ĠEn o Ġthought Ġit Ġwould Ġbe Ġbest Ġto Ġstart Ġfrom Ġscratch Ġ. ĠHis Ġidea Ġwas Ġto Ġ" Ġstage Ġan Ġaccident Ġ" Ġand Ġhave Ġthe Ġsong Ġ' s Ġtapes Ġerased Ġ. ĠHe Ġsaid Ġthat Ġthis Ġwas Ġnot Ġto Ġforce Ġabandonment Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġbut Ġrather Ġthat Ġit Ġwould Ġbe Ġmore Ġeffective Ġto Ġstart Ġagain Ġwith Ġa Ġfresh Ġperformance Ġ. ĠAt Ġone Ġpoint Ġ, ĠEn o Ġhad Ġthe Ġtapes Ġc ued Ġup Ġand Ġready Ġto Ġbe Ġrecorded Ġover Ġ, Ġbut Ġthis Ġer asure Ġnever Ġtook Ġplace Ġ; Ġaccording Ġto Ġengineer ĠFlood Ġ, Ġfellow Ġengineer ĠPat ĠMcCarthy Ġreturned Ġto Ġthe Ġcontrol Ġroom Ġand Ġupon Ġseeing ĠEn o Ġready Ġto Ġerase Ġthe Ġtapes Ġ, Ġdropped Ġthe Ġtray Ġof Ġtea Ġhe Ġwas Ġcarrying Ġand Ġphysically Ġrestrained ĠEn o Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġstudio Ġversion Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġwas Ġcompiled Ġfrom Ġseveral Ġdifferent Ġtakes Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġseveral Ġsongs Ġmixed Ġby ĠSteve ĠLilly white Ġin Ġthe Ġfinal Ġmonths Ġof Ġrecording ĠThe ĠJoshua ĠTree Ġ. ĠDrum mer ĠLarry ĠMull en Ġ, ĠJr . Ġlater Ġsaid Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġ" ĠIt Ġtook Ġso Ġlong Ġto Ġget Ġthat Ġsong Ġright Ġ, Ġit Ġwas Ġdifficult Ġfor Ġus Ġto Ġmake Ġany Ġsense Ġof Ġit Ġ. ĠIt Ġonly Ġbecame Ġa Ġtruly Ġgreat Ġsong Ġthrough Ġplaying Ġlive Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġrecord Ġ, Ġmus ically Ġ, Ġit Ġ' s Ġnot Ġhalf Ġthe Ġsong Ġit Ġis Ġlive Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠCom position Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġis Ġplayed Ġat Ġa Ġtempo Ġof Ġ126 Ġbeats Ġper Ġminute Ġ. ĠThe Ġintroduction Ġand Ġout ro Ġare Ġplayed Ġin Ġa Ġ3 Ġ/ Ġ4 Ġtime Ġsignature Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġremainder Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġis Ġin Ġa Ġcommon Ġ4 Ġ/ Ġ4 Ġsignature Ġ. ĠThe Ġsongs Ġopens Ġwith Ġan Ġinstrumental Ġsection Ġ, Ġstarting Ġwith Ġch or ale Ġ@ - @ Ġlike Ġsustained Ġsynthes iser Ġnotes Ġ. ĠThe Ġguitar Ġfades Ġin Ġafter Ġ42 Ġseconds Ġ; Ġthis Ġpart Ġconsists Ġof Ġa Ġrepeated Ġ" Ġchim ing Ġ" Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġnote Ġar pe gg io Ġ. ĠA Ġ" Ġdotted Ġeighth Ġ" Ġdelay Ġeffect Ġis Ġused Ġto Ġ" Ġplay Ġ" Ġeach Ġnote Ġin Ġthe Ġar pe gg io Ġtwice Ġ, Ġthus Ġcreating Ġa Ġrich Ġsound Ġ. ĠThe Ġbass Ġand Ġdrums Ġenter Ġat Ġ1 Ġ: Ġ10 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġintroduction Ġ, Ġfollowing Ġa ĠI ĠâĢĵ ĠIV ĠâĢĵ ĠI ĠâĢĵ ĠIV ĠâĢĵ Ġvi ĠâĢĵ ĠV ĠâĢĵ ĠI Ġchord Ġprogression Ġ, Ġcreates Ġa Ġ" Ġwall Ġof Ġsound Ġ" Ġ, Ġas Ġdescribed Ġby ĠMark ĠButler Ġ, Ġagainst Ġwhich Ġthe Ġvocals Ġemerge Ġafter Ġnearly Ġtwo Ġminutes Ġ. ĠThe Ġguitar Ġpart Ġplayed Ġfor Ġthe Ġremainder Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġfeatures ĠThe ĠEdge Ġstr um ming Ġper c uss ive Ġsix teenth Ġnotes Ġ. ĠThe Ġbass Ġand Ġdrums Ġcontinue Ġin Ġregular Ġeighth Ġand Ġsix teenth Ġnotes Ġ, Ġrespectively Ġ, Ġwhile ĠBon o Ġ' s Ġvocal Ġperformance Ġ, Ġin Ġcontrast Ġ, Ġvaries Ġgreatly Ġin Ġits Ġtim bre Ġ, Ġ( Ġ" Ġhe Ġsigh s Ġ; Ġhe Ġmo