"Lead Me In The Way I Should Go" (2003)
Demo Song
Background Information
“Lead Me In The Way I Should Go” is a song that was initially developed for the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album.
The song first came up in the February 20, 2003 dated issue of Grammy Magazine. Bono is interviewed and was asked the question, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, the magnet for seven GRAMMY awards, including back-to-back wins for Record of the Year, is a hard act to follow. How is the next U2 album shaping up?” Bono’s reply drops a few new song titles:
I just came from the studio today, and it’s ridiculous what’s going on. Edge is just on fire; he’s making the most extraordinary things come out of his guitar. It’s astonishing. We came up with a tune today called “Lead Me In The Way I Should Go,” which could be a big song. Another one, provisionally titled “Full Metal Jacket,” is pure chrome. I’m very excited about what we’re doing, and I don’t think we’re facing that difficult second album syndrome.
“Lead Me In the Way I Should Go” didn’t make the cut for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb nor did it show up on the following albums, No Line on the Horizon and Songs of Innocence.
But that doesn’t mean the song was forgotten. In an appearance on BBC Radio in October 2014 Bono spoke about a new song he was working on, “The Morning After Innocence”, and that song included the lyrics:
Lead me in the way I should go. I’m running out of chances to blow, that’s what you told me and you should know. Lead me in the way I should be. Unravel the mystery of the heart and its defense, the morning after innocence.
It is likely that “Lead Me in the Way I Should Go” developed into “The Morning After Innocence.” See that song for further information on the development of this song.