THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

320-U2-One.

1992-Number 7 single.

Best Bit-At 4.08. These are some of the many accolades. ‘Today FM’ voted the song the best Irish song ever. In a survey by the music channel ‘VH1′ to find the UK’s favourite song lyric,’One life, with each other, sisters, brothers,’ was voted the top, and in 2005 in their list of the ‘1001 Best Songs Ever,’ ‘Q’ magazine had this song as their Number 1.

It probably wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if it hadn’t have been for this song then U2 (see also best songs 766-190 and 84) would have split before the release of their seventh studio Album ‘Achtung Baby’ in 1991. The band were exhausted after completing the ‘Lovetown Tour’ in 1989-1990, following the release of their sixth Album ‘Rattle and Hum’ which had been critically slated by some music critics, leading to the bands members arguing about which musical direction to take next. In October 1990 U2 arrived in Berlin to work on ideas for what would become their seventh studio Album ‘Achtung Baby.’ On the making of ‘One’ The Edge has said, ‘At the instant we were recording it, I got a very strong sense of it’s power. We were all playing together in the big room, a huge eerie ballroom full of ghosts of the war, and everything fell in to place. It was a reassuring moment, when everyone finally went ‘Oh great,’ this album has started.’

‘One’ was the third of five singles released from ‘Achtung Baby,’ the seventh studio Album by U2, from November 1991, the songs writing is credited to all four band members, Bono, (vocals) The Edge, (guitar) Adam Clayton, (bass guitar) and Larry Mullen Jr., (drums) with the production being by Daniel Lanois, (see also best songs 766 and 190) who provided additional guitar, and Brian Eno, (see also best songs 766-302-190-118-109 and 57) who provided additional keyboards. The lyrics to ‘One’ were written by Bono, who has spoken about the songs meaning, ‘It’s a father and son story. I tried to write about someone I knew who was coming out and was afraid to tell his father. It’s a religious father and son, I have lots of gay friends, and I’ve seen them screwed up from unloving family situations, which just are completely anti-Christian. If we know anything about God, it’s that God is love, that’s part of the song, and then it’s also about people struggling to be together, and how difficult it is to stay together in this world, whether your in a band or a relationship.’ In the 2006 autobiography ‘U2 by U2,’ The Edge wrote, ‘The lyric was the first in a new, more intimate style. It’s two ideas, essentially. On one level it’s a bitter, twisted, vitriolic conversation between two people who’ve been through some nasty, heavy stuff: ‘We hurt each other, then we do it again.’ But on another level there’s the idea that ‘we get to carry each other.’ ‘Get to’ is the key. ‘Got to’ would be too obvious and platitudinous. ‘Get to’ suggests it is our privilege to carry one another. It puts everything in perspective and introduces the idea of grace.

Bono was born Paul David Hewson, on May 10th, 1960, in Dublin, Ireland, away from music he is an activist for social justice causes, both through U2, and as an individual. He is particularly active in campaigning to fight extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa, for which he co-founded ‘DATA,’ ‘EDUN,’ the ‘ONE Campaign,’ and ‘Product Red.’ Bono has received numerous honours including being granted an ‘honorary knighthood’ by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 2007, being made a ‘Commandeur of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ (Order of Arts and Letters) in 2013, and receiving the ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom’ in the United States’ in 2025. During his childhood Bono and his friends had a ritual of giving each other nicknames, one of which was ‘Bono Vox,’ which was shortened to ‘Bono.’ The name derives from the Latin phrase for ‘good voice,’ he has been known as ‘Bono’ by his friends and family since the age of 14.

‘One’ was co-produced by Daniel Lanois, (see also best songs 766 and 190) who was born Daniel Roland Lanois, on September 19th, 1951, in Hull, Quebec, Canada, he is music producer, musician, and songwriter, who specialises in the genres of ‘Rock,’ ‘Alternative Rock,’ and ‘Ambient’ music. Daniel Lanois who was inducted into ‘Canada’s Walk of Fame’ in June 2013, has worked on the production of six of U2’s studio Albums, he has also produced Albums for several other artists, including Bob Dylan, (Oh Mercy-1989, Time Out of Mind-1997) and Peter Gabriel, (Birdy-1985, So-1986, and Us-1992.) Lanois has released eight solo studio Albums between 1989-2022, and a further three collaborative Albums between 2010-2018.

‘One’ which was released as the third single from ‘Achtung Baby’ was essentially a charity single, as proceeds were donated to AIDS research, with each country it sold in, receiving the royalties earned from there, for example it reached Number 2 in Italy, Number 3 in New Zealand, and Number 10 in America. In 2005 Bono was the co-founder of the ‘One’ campaign, which is an organisation that was set up to put pressure on the United States government to give an additional 1% of it’s budget to help poor regions in Africa. In 2006 the American singer Mary J. Blige (see also best songs 359) covered ‘One’ for her seventh studio Album ‘The Breakthrough.’ Bono provided additional vocals to the track while The Edge, (guitar) Adam Clayton, (bass) and Larry Mullen Jr., (drums) also performed on the song which reached Number 2 in the UK. A cover version of ‘One’ was also a hit for the British Soul singer Mica Paris, reaching Number 29 in the UK in 1995.

‘You say love is a temple, love is a higher law. You ask of me to enter, but then you make me crawl, and I can’t keep holding on to what you got, ’cause all you got is hurt.’