1987 Rock Song, Written by Bono, Ranked Among ‘Best Billboard Hot 100’ No. 1 Songs of All Time

U2’s 1987 hit “With or Without You” has landed at No. 8 on 10 Best Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Songs of All Time.

The song was the lead single from U2’s fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree, and became a major turning point for the Irish rock band in the U.S. “With or Without You” became U2’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent three weeks at the top and 18 weeks on the chart overall.

Collider placed the song at No. 8 and noted that U2 had two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, both from The Joshua Tree. The band’s other chart-topper, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” also came from the 1987 album.

The ranking also pointed to the strength of The Joshua Tree‘s opening songs. “With or Without You,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Where the Streets Have No Name” are the album’s first three tracks, with the latter reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

For U2, “With or Without You” was more than another successful single. It marked the group’s breakthrough with American audiences after years of building success in Ireland and the U.K.

Before the song, U2’s biggest U.S. hit had been 1984’s “Pride (In the Name of Love),” which reached No. 33. But “With or Without You” changed that. After reaching No. 1, U2 followed it with another chart-topper when “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” also reached the summit.

“With or Without You” was written around feelings of conflict and a relationship that the singer could not easily escape. Bono wanted to write a love song that dealt with real issues, and the lyrics allowed listeners to find different meanings in the story.

Bono explained that the song was also connected to his own inner conflict. At the time, he was balancing his life as a husband with the demands of being an artist and a member of one of the world’s biggest rock bands.

In the book U2 by U2, per American Songwriter, Bono described that struggle in his own words: “I was at least two people: the person who is so responsible, protective and loyal and the vagrant and idler in me who just wants to run from responsibility.”

“I thought these tensions were going to destroy me but actually, in truth, it is me. That tension, it turns out, is what makes me as an artist,” he continued.”

Another important line in the song was “and you give yourself away.” In 1987, Bono said everybody in the group knew what it meant, adding, “It’s about how I feel in U2 at times, exposed.”

According to Songfacts, in 2005, Bono called it the song’s most important part because it represented a release of mental tension, “which is when the ‘Aah-aah’ comes out. That is what giving yourself away is, musically.”

The song’s popularity has continued well beyond its original release. On March 15, 2024, “With or Without You” became the first U2 song to reach one billion streams on Spotify.

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