U2No Line On The Horizon (4:13)

On No Line On The Horizon

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About This Track

“No Line on the Horizon” is a song by Irish rock band U2; it is the opening and title track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. An alternate version, “No Line on the Horizon 2” was included as a bonus track on some versions of the album. The song was developed during the band’s earliest sessions in Fez, Morocco, and began with a drum beat by drummer Larry Mullen Jr. The lyrics were inspired by a photograph of Lake Constance, titled Boden Sea. Many reviews of the song compared it to the band’s other guitar-heavy songs, including “Vertigo”, “Zoo Station”, and “The Fly”.

“No Line on the Horizon” was first developed the recording sessions in Fez, Morocco, and was recorded in one take. “No Line on the Horizon” stemmed from drummer Larry Mullen Jr. experimenting with several different drum beats; producer and co-writer Brian Eno sampled and manipulated the patterns, and the rest of the band began to play over it. The guitar in “No Line on the Horizon” was developed through a Death by Audio distortion box; the idea to use it was suggested to guitarist The Edge by Ben Curtis of the Secret Machines. After hearing the song Curtis noted that it “blew my mind… he’s using that pedal in a textural way that it wasn’t intended to be used at all.”

Lead singer Bono was inspired to write the lyrics after seeing a photograph of Lake Constance titled Boden Sea; the image had taken by Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. Bono had the idea of a place “where the sea meets the sky and you can’t tell the difference between the two”. When it came to recording the song, producer and co-writer Daniel Lanois stated that “the vocal happened very early on, that whole - a-whoawhoawhoawhoa! - that little hook.
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  • No Line On The Horizon
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  • PabloRH

    Fuckin' synth I'm gonna kill you for making fun of me!

    20 days ago
  • JuniorMcCartney

    You can hear the universe in her seashells...

    February 2012
  • kemp678

    I absolutely adore this group

    November 2011
  • seanbonner1

    My favourite U2 song post-Pop.

    November 2011
  • innerspeaker

    This wins the award for "Best U2 Album Opener That's Not Called Where The Streets Have No Name"

    November 2011
  • jammyofstafford

    Wembley Stadium August 09 this was the first song they hit us with and the place errupted,a special moment that I,ll never forget

    August 2011
  • SongOSongs

    This is one of my favorite songs off "No Line on the Horizon." I like to belly dance and I think this would be a fun song to make a dance to. :)

    May 2011
  • iLoveDUB

    Can't believe I still haven't seen them after all these years!!!!

    November 2010
  • Grayson666

    Love it!!

    October 2010
  • _danton_

    a song that sounds pretty good first time ya hear it... by the third time it has ya. Awesome...

    September 2010
  • egyptianhead

    That synthesizer at 3:00 is making fun of us :( [2] lol it's true!

    September 2010
  • JackMcFearless

    I love this track.. I think it's the only song I like off NLOtH

    June 2010
  • The80sFan

    Great track with a superb rhythm and vocals.

    June 2010
  • Celestial_Sky

    Seeing them in about 3 weeks....CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!

    May 2010
  • dalmascan

    every night i have the same dream where i'm hatching some plot; scheming some scheme.

    May 2010
  • egyptianhead

    woohoo i'm a top listener

    April 2010
  • digitaldreamers

    Live would be great,.. I still love it here. Amazing vocals.

    February 2010
  • pablostevenson

    That synthesizer at 3:00 is making fun of us :(

    January 2010
  • U2isdebest

    I love this song! It was SO incredibly good live!!!!

    January 2010
  • shembarnoah

    no line ..... a very good song...... U2 delivers again !!!......................................................................

    January 2010
See all 194 shouts

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