# Best song off of U2's "the Joshua Tree"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478 "2010-09-29T15:29:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/1 "2010-09-29T15:29:26Z")
Ok, it’s ANOTHER of these threads. But why not? What’s your fav off this album? Mine is “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” I acdtually thought and re-thought this choice because it sounded so obvious (the big hit single off the record), I almost went with “One Tree Hill.” But after listening to the whole thing for the first time in ages, I decided that no…some times there are good reasons why a song becomes a monster hit - mainly because it’s a fuckin’ awesome song! I do have a soft spot for “In God’s Country” as well though. Anyway, whaddaya think? ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/2 "2010-09-29T18:10:47Z")
One of my favorite albums, I think you could make a case for 7-8 different songs being the best. Ultimately I went with #1. Always loved the intro. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/3 "2010-09-29T18:14:49Z")
I first became familiar with _Joshua Tree_-era U2 through two very camp cover versions - Cher’s live cover of ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’, which they mixed with ‘I Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You’. In the years since I’ve come to know the originals and would have to pick ‘I Still Haven’t Found…’, which never fails to give me chills, in it’s original form or the cover. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/4 "2010-09-29T18:24:13Z")
Oh, God, this is impossible. Every song is gold. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/5 "2010-09-29T18:33:26Z")
No kidding. Tough call. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/6 "2010-09-29T18:47:55Z")
I can’t think of any album by any band that had more great songs on it. _Red Hill Mining Town_ was always my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/7 "2010-09-29T19:55:45Z")
Great album, but my favorite is and will always be ‘with or without you’. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/8 "2010-09-29T21:34:00Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > Great album, but my favorite is and will always be ‘with or without you’. > > Good stuff. That’s what I chose in the end, as well. That song always makes me stop in my tracks and listen, wherever I am. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/9 "2010-09-29T22:09:10Z")
One of my top-5 “desert island” albums. Choosing one track is like choosing one of my children. Still I think my sentimental favorite is “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/10 "2010-09-29T23:12:19Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > Great album, but my favorite is and will always be ‘with or without you’. megadittos. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/11 "2010-09-29T23:30:28Z")
Awesome album, and extremely difficult choice - I ended up voting for “Exit” because I just love that song so much. I think I might actually like “The Unforgettable Fire” just a smidge more as my favourite U2 album, though. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/12 "2010-09-29T23:52:11Z")
I like them all but _Bullet The Blue Sky_ always manages to conjure powerful images of war, despair, greed and death. I hate those images in many ways, but being reminded of them in such a way is very compelling to me. I was kind of always unsure/a little pissed off about the “Outside Its America” part of the song, sometimes I listen to it and I think “Fuck off, you Irish twit!” but other times I feel like it rings too true and its a powerful image, which shames my thinking sometimes. Wars go on and on and…well, nothing here at home has changed much and we collectively just accept the death and destruction raining down upon some distant country and we…don’t seem to care all that much. And even if we do, we are drowned in apathy over it because we feel powerless to change it. Its a beautiful, horrible, angry song, and I can’t help but really like it. _Where The Streets Have No Name_ is my close second. I love the fleeting nature of it, the possibilities of escape… I can’t really stand \*With Or Without You \*all that much. Its okay, but love songs aren’t really my thing anyway. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/13 "2010-09-29T23:56:25Z")
It was a tough call, but “With or Without You” is just so beautiful and timeless. I’ve always had a soft spot for “Red Hell Mining Town” too. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/14 "2010-09-30T00:01:31Z")
Definitely Where the Streets Have No Name. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/15 "2010-09-30T00:09:17Z")
[RIGHT][“These guys are from England and who gives a shit?” – Casey Kasem, on U2](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.01/negativland_pr.html) (Moron, bloody moron)[/RIGHT] I gotta go with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” because of the Negativland cover, which was suppressed for trademark reasons and is therefore very easy to find online. (Does this count as a [Streisand](http://www.thestreisandeffect.com/) cover? ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/16 "2010-09-30T00:33:25Z")
Glad to see so many agree that it’s damn near impossible to choose on this one. My usual thought as I listen is “Oh THIS is the best track on this album…(then 4 minutes later)…oh no, it’s THIS one…” Start to finish this is my vote for best album in all of rock & roll-dom. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/17 "2010-09-30T01:23:14Z")
This is another one of those albums like Appetite for Destruction, where several very good songs have been a bit ruined by 20 years of heavy rotation. The three vote leaders are awesome, but I’m sick of them. Because of that, “Bullet The Blue Sky” is my pick. Second is “In God’s Country.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/18 "2010-09-30T03:49:35Z")
_I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For._ Twenty three years later, I still haven’t. Story of my life. Resonated with me then, still does. But not my all time favorite U2 song. That would be the live version of Bad, off the _Wide Awake In America_ EP. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/19 "2010-09-30T04:35:40Z")
Easy. “Running To Stand Still”. Second place is “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478/20 "2010-09-30T11:04:04Z")
…had to go with “One Tree Hill.” As a kiwi the song means a lot to me and was a fitting tribute to Greg Carroll. A pity One Tree Hill lost its tree several year ago though… ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-off-of-u2s-the-joshua-tree/555478.md?page=2)