U2’s “How to Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb” Song by Song

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2025-03-23)

In 2025, Fonthill Media published U2: Song by Song, written by Aaron J. Sams. (Yes, that is me.) The book has been out for about a year now. Written in 2021, the book covered U2’s song output from Boy through to the release of “Atomic City” with a look at each album release and the related songs from the era.

In 2024, U2 released How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb, a companion to the 20th anniversary celebrations of the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album. It is the first album of material not covered by the book. I thought it would be fun to take those new songs and write them up as a missing chapter from U2: Song by Song.

If you are interested in the book, it is still for sale at your local book shops, via Amazon and other online outlets. More information is available direct from Fonthill.

How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb (2024)

How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb has been described by U2 as a shadow album, an accompanying album to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, constructed from demos and B-sides from the original sessions for the 2004 album. The original album was recorded between February 2003 and July 2004. Additional recording work was done on this new album in 2024 over three weeks after the end of the performances at Sphere.

The Re-Assemble album credits list eight producers on the album. The Edge is the main producer and then listed are Chris Thomas, Jacknife Lee, Duncan Stewart, Steve Lillywhite, Dave Stewart, Brian Eno, and Daniel Lanois. All were associated with the original recordings of the music except for Duncan Stewart, who has been working with U2 for about 15 years at this point. It is Duncan Stewart and Jacknife Lee, as well as The Edge, that did much of the work on the more modern additions to these songs. The cover of the album is photographed by Anton Corbijn, in a session held in London in 2003. He shot the band members individually, and then put them together and did retouching digitally, including adding some paint effects around the band.

The Re-Assemble album was initially released with How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in the CD and vinyl box sets, celebrating the 20th anniversary of that album. These sets were released November 22, 2024. A digital version released the same day included Dismantle and Re-Assemble together. The following week, on November 29, 2024, the Re-Assemble album was released to streaming services as a standalone album, and a red and black vinyl copy of the album was released for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event. (The version in the boxed set had been on black vinyl with a differently coloured cover.)

The songs themselves are a more rock sound that Bono described were born coming out of the Elevation tour, “The sound of a crowd was still ringing” and “These are the primal sources of our instinct to make a record that would be the primary colour of rock and roll. Go back to those 45s, those rock and roll 45s and we stayed there for maybe a few weeks. And then of course subject matter takes you down different musical paths.” (1) The Edge shares, “That raw energy, condensed into ideas that were at the time, contenders. But for various reasons along the way they sort of slipped. Slipped off, they fell off the back of the truck, so to speak, into the ditch.” (2)

Bono shares, “You are hearing us discover” (3) while Edge adds, “You hear us really going after those big guitar songs.” (4) Work on the collection began with a list of songs proposed for the compilation given to The Edge in early 2024. He found the suggested list of edits and alternate versions underwhelming. “We begged the record label for another 2-3 weeks” (5) and the work on older demos started, taking the band a couple of weeks to put a new spin on these older previously unfinished songs. “A lot of poets would take their earlier works and reuse them, add verses, take verses out. I think that’s cool there is a living breathing aspect to music. It shouldn’t be monolithic in that sense.” (6) Of the updates done for this album, The Edge shares that the band worked on “lyrics, new vocals, very few instrument overdubs. I did a couple of guitars, but basically it was vocals and lyrics.” (7) Of the ten songs, eight are either new versions, or new songs entirely, and only two songs are remastered versions of previously released songs. The Edge shared, “I went into my personal archive to see if there were any unreleased gems, and I hit the jackpot. We chose ten that really spoke to us. Although at the time we left these songs to one side, with the benefit of hindsight we recognize that our initial instincts about them being contenders for the album were right, we were onto something. What you’re getting on this shadow album is that raw energy of discovery, the visceral impact of the music, a sonic narrative, a moment in time, the exploration and interaction of four musicians playing together in a room…this is the pure U2 drop.” (8)

The Edge felt the songs were timely as well, “Things have kind of come full circle, at the time we were writing about what was happening in Iraq, but now, if we sort of transport back to today, with what’s happening in the Middle East, that really could have been written last week.” (9)

A previous collection of demos from Dismantle, released in 2004 is mostly unrepresented here. These were released as Apple Exclusives, and later fan club exclusives via U2.Com. Of these demos, only “Smile” is found on this collection, under a new title. “Smile” is also the only song which had a wider commercial release earlier as well, having been used as a bonus track on the U218 Singles collection.

1. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
2. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
3. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
4. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.
5. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.
6. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.
7. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.
8. Universal Records Canada, “U2 unveils How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (20th Anniversary Edition) & How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb featuring unreleased tracks”, Press Release. September 26, 2024.
9. Richie Assaly, “U2’s The Edge on Donald Trump: ‘We’ll Get Through It’”. Toronto Star. November 29, 2024.

“Picture of You (X+W)”

Lyrics: Bono Music: U2
Producer: Thomas

“Picture of You (X+W)” kicks off the album. The track is familiar to U2 fans, having been released in two earlier versions under different titles. “Xanax and Wine” was an early demo, shared via The Complete U2 digital set, and later appeared on Medium, Rare and Remastered from the U2 fan club. The better-known version, “Fast Cars”, was a bonus track on the album in the UK, Japan and Australia in 2004. The “X+W” in the title of this new version is a reference back to beginnings as “Xanax and Wine”. All three versions of the song have a lyric which references the title of the album, among a strobe of images taken from the nightly news. “Fast Cars”, which became the bonus track, was done on U2’s last day in studio for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. “Picture of You (X+W)” goes back to an earlier version of the song.

The song had a long development during the sessions for Atomic Bomb with the band struggling to make it work. The Edge shared “I think we recognized that there was something in there that we hadn’t fully realized.” (1) Right up until the end of recording sessions in 2004, the band were still trying to make it work. Adam Clayton speaks about the final day in recordings, “We recorded a new song on the second-last night in the studio, which ended up as a bonus track in Britain and Japan. We had a kind of electronica track called ‘Xanax and Red Wine’ which included the line ‘how to dismantle an atomic bomb’, and we had done a couple of versions but couldn’t make it fit together. Bono wanted to get that lyric back onto the record and we didn’t have much time, so the idea came to start from scratch, replay it with a sparse arrangement and adapt melodies and lyrics to fit that new format. It turned into ‘Fast Cars’. It really ended those sessions on a high note.” (2) Bono shares, “It was really just for fun, but it came out so well it’ll be an extra track on the record in some countries.” (3) “Fast Cars” has become part of the main album with this 2024 reissue, included as a bonus track on all versions of Dismantle. Like the 2004 release, it is separated from “Yahweh” by a short silence. (A remix of “Fast Cars” by Jacknife Lee was also released in 2004 and is included in the boxed collections of this set.)

When revisiting material for this collection, the band pulled out an alternate version from what had previously been released as “Xanax and Wine”. The structure of the song flows differently, and the credits suggest that “Picture of You (X+W)” has not had any modern-day tweaks or changes to the song. Of this version, Edge shares, “It’s a testimony to the strength of the idea, the initial energy of it that it lends itself to that kind of reiterization through different versions.” (4)

The day the 20th anniversary editions were announced, U2 released two songs to radio, “Country Mile” and “Picture of You (X+W)”, which were also made available commercially. It was a radio edit of both tracks sent to radio, and these were released six weeks later as another commercial version. “Picture of You (X+W)” did have some success on radio, reaching #36 for radio airplay in the UK, and appearing on several airplay charts in Billboard for the US. On the Adult Alternative Airplay chart it peaked at #14, on the Rock and Alternative Airplay chart it peaked at #31, and on the Alternative Airplay chart it reached #33. Additional edits of the track were released in some markets worldwide.

1. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
2. U2. U2 by U2. Harper Collins. 2006.
3. Paul Rees. “The Bomb Squad”. Q Magazine. Issue 220, November 2004. Published October 1, 2004.
4. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.

“Evidence of Life”

Lyrics: The Edge with Bono Music: The Edge
Producer: The Edge and Duncan Stewart

The album kicked off with a song that was somewhat familiar to U2 fans, but the second track “Evidence of Life” is one of several new songs featured on the album. The song is written “from the perspective of being on the Ark and releasing the dove to see if there’s any dry land out there.” (1) Edge credits Bono with coming up with the idea for the lyrics, but Bono shares, “Edge wrote the lyric and sang it. And that is a sound I love to hear more.” (2)

The song was a rough unfinished instrumental when left behind. The vocals were added in 2024. The theme of the Ark may have been on U2’s mind from their performances at Sphere, where one segment of the performance shows the Sphere as an Ark, which bursts open to reveal endangered wildlife. It also relates back to a lyric from “Beautiful Day” where we hear of the bird with a leaf in the mouth, another reference to the story of Noah’s Ark.

Having been developed by The Edge alone in studio the credits are interesting. The Edge is listed on drums, and Bono gets a credit for keyboards, which may have been added more recently.

The instrumentals were done after the band had decided to split from producer Chris Thomas. “We brought Steve in, played him our tracks towards the end of 2003. ‘We’ll do some sessions in early 2004, we’ll have a few new tracks for you to listen to.’ So, I went in. There was no one around, it was during Christmas break, it was just me. I went in with an engineer. I basically had to play everything myself, and I left the studio, and I was so happy with it. Then I went to my brother’s house, and I was like ‘check this out’ and he just went ‘oh, it’s very like ‘Seven Nation Army’ isn’t it?’ I went ‘What? Shit, maybe you’re right.’ (3)

Although spooked by similarities to a chord structure in “Seven Nation Army” upon review Edge realized it was nothing like the song. “You can get spooked. You can get knocked off an idea. So objectivity is important.” (4)

1. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.
2. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
3. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.
4. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.

“Luckiest Man in the World”

Lyrics: Bono Music: U2
Producer: Lee Additional production: Duncan Stewart

U2 fans had fallen in love with a track called “Mercy” in 2004 and have been asking for it to be released ever since. “Luckiest Man in the World” is “Mercy” with some modern-day tweaks and additions, but the basic structure of the song still exists. Edge relates, the song “was in a previous existence known as ‘Mercy’. It wasn’t on the album, but we did play it a few times live and it sort of became this song that the U2 fans always refer to.” (1)

What Edge fails to mention is the studio version of the song was leaked in 2004 just a few days before the Atomic Bomb album was due. The person sharing on fan forums said she got a CD copy from a friend, who had burnt the CD from a cassette copy he had. The cassette copy had possibly come via an employee at a local record store, where it had come from someone likely tied to the label. The story twists and turns, and some details have been lost to time about how that copy reached fans.

What do we know about it? “Mercy” was one of the last songs cut from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. It was removed so late that traces of it can be found in the artwork accompanying the deluxe version of the album, including lyrics to the song. In 2010, as the band resumed their U2360° tour in Europe, they worked on never released songs, performing them in concert. “Mercy” debuted live at a concert in the pouring rain in Zurich on that leg of the tour. To Bono’s surprise, many fans sang along. He asked fans after the show how they had known the lyrics, so perhaps the full extent of the leak was not known by the band. A performance from that tour, recorded a few nights after the debut was released as part of the “Wide Awake in Europe” EP, released for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event in 2010. The live 2010 version can also be heard via a play list that I curated for U2.com if you are a member.

In Blender in 2004 the song was discussed, “As it stands, the album is three seconds shy of an hour and, as Bono says, ‘too much of a good thing is a bad thing,’ so drastic measures need to be taken. ‘I have a theory,’ Mullen begins, and a reverential silence descends as the drummer — traditionally the first band member to be shouted down in these situations — states his case. After just five minutes, it has been unanimously decided that the track ‘Mercy,’ a six-and-a-half-minute outpouring of U2 at its most uninhibitedly U2-ish, must go. Hence a song that any self-respecting band would be proud to call a single becomes what Bono immediately anoints ‘the best B-side you’ve ever heard.’ Later, another more experimental candidate entitled ‘Fast Cars’ gets evicted, and the album becomes a lean and lithe 11 tracks.” (2)

The band continued to work on the song from time-to-time. In 2015, ahead of the opening night of the Innocence + Experience tour, the band were heard working on a version of the song, however, with very different lyrics. Those lyrics went on to become “The Little Things That Give You Away” on the 2018 Songs of Experience album. The song also shares some DNA with “Happiness” on this album. They both include the lyric, “Happiness is for those who don’t really need it”.

Bono shared “We never finished that tune. At the time as we were playing it we all knew this was something other. We finished it as ‘The Luckiest Man in the World’ but he didn’t want to be. It’s a violent piece of work. It’s a violent lyric. That it has the joy of a U2 song saves it, I think makes sense of the lyric.” (3) Bono also shared, “We were trying to create a suite of songs. It’s unexplainable. I think it might have been putting a thorn away, as much as a diamond. It just…it hadn’t finished. It wasn’t finished. And I’m glad.” (4)

The new lyrics, recorded in 2024, are entwined with a vocal from the original recordings. Bono used the phrase “the luckiest man in the world” throughout the run at Sphere in Las Vegas, including the first night of those shows, so it may have leaped from there to the song. In Record Collector Magazine he shares, “We were not sure of its lyrical destination until the line, ‘You were the luckiest man in the world, but you didn’t want to be.’ That was the key that unlocked it for me…You don’t know who exactly the singer is hitting out at, it might even be himself.” (5)

Noel Gallagher, from Oasis, heard the Re-Assemble album before it was released. Upon hearing “Luckiest Man in the World” Noel shared, as related by Bono, “Hey, first of all, I want me money back. You said these were the 11 best songs you had in you. That’s not true. Give me my money back.” (6) As to Bono’s thoughts on the newly recorded version? “I’m still not sure quite what to make of it. Finally, we finished it.” (7)

“Luckiest Man in the World” was the fourth song released for promotion from the album after “Country Mile”, “Picture of You (X+W)” and “Happiness”. The promotional single was released on the same day that the album was released, and like the other songs, a radio edit was made available for radio, and a lyric video was shared via the band’s YouTube account.

1. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.
2. Adrian Deevoy. “U2 Walk On Water”. Blender Magazine. November, 2004.
3. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
4. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
5. Bono. “A Note from Bono”. Record Collector Magazine. Issue 564. Published October 31, 2024.
6. Bono. “A Note from Bono”. Record Collector Magazine. Issue 564. Published October 31, 2024.
7. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.

“Treason”

Lyrics: Bono with the Edge Music: U2 and Dave Stewart
Producer: Dave Stewart and Lee

“Treason” started out in the early morning hours in the South of France, as Bono worried the AIDS work he had been campaigning President Bush to join him on, had hit trouble. “It looked like it was not going to happen. This song was written lyrically in a sulk. Edge and myself wrote the song very late, in fact early, on vacation, as the sun was coming up. That’s where the chords and the melody came from. The lyrics came from this tantrum the singer was throwing I suppose, about all our selective deafness with what’s going on in the world’s poor. We all have it. And at the time we were on a kind of march as activists.” (1)

At the time Bono was working with David Stewart, of Eurythmics fame on songs for the “46664” concert, honoring Nelson Mandela. At one point in the development of the song, he was working with Stewart and Dr. Dre, and they worked on “Treason” during those sessions. The backing vocals by the Gateway Ambassador singers, a young group of musicians from Ghana, were recorded during those sessions.

Stewart shares, “That evening we went to visit Dr. Dre at his studio in the Valley and an amazing new song got started that at the time was called ‘Treason.’ We ended up recording it with the Gateway Ambassador singers, a group of young musicians from Ghana. Those talented kids were all orphans and about to go on the road with Bono for the Heartland of America Tour, generating support in the fight against AIDS. The next morning, we were blasting out ‘American Prayer’ and ‘Treason’ at full volume in Bono’s suite on top of the Chateau Marmont, with Bobby Shriver and two activists from Bono’s ONE organization. We eventually got down to writing and practically finished the song then and there. We decided that Bono and I should fly that night to Miami and ask Bruce Springsteen to help work on our song and sing it.” (2)

Dr. Dre does not make it into the song, nor is he credited in the liner notes. Programming on the track, however, is by Mick Elizondo, a protégé and regular collaborator of Dr. Dre. Dave Stewart is credited on keyboards and additional guitar on the track as well. Of Dre’s involvement Bono shares, “He’s an influence on ‘Treason’. We’d been hanging out with him, he’d been helping with some of my work as an activist, getting HIV/AIDS drugs to people. So that primal power exists also in hip hop, but they have this fun way of colliding words together.” (3)

It is not clear which song they had in mind for Springsteen, “American Prayer” or “Treason”. “American Prayer” would eventually be performed with Beyonce at the concerts. Bono shares, “We did a song called ‘American Prayer’ with Nelson Mandela and Beyonce. We lit the place up. Went to South Africa. We had a choir who ended up a kids choir. Dre was recording next door. So we, just by being around Dre end up being influenced by him and this song ‘Treason’ begins. Which is again about betraying the National…about the way we all betray ourselves. Not just our countries betray our highest ideals but we betray our highest ideals.” (4)

The song was developed by U2 during the sessions for Atomic Bomb, and photos from U2 by U2 provide evidence it was being worked on up until the end of 2003, when they parted ways with Chris Thomas. The version on Re-Assemble has some modern additions to finish off the song, including Edge’s rap at the end of the song. The Edge shares, “We ended up using my voice at the end. I did the demo hoping Bono would do it properly. And he said ‘that sounds really good Edge’ so I have to say I’m a little red faced still, imitating the beautiful form of rap. But it seems to hang together.” (5)

In 2008, while working on No Line on the Horizon, U2 were posting clips from studio, and it sounds like one of them includes parts from “Treason”. (The video is labelled ‘Larry Stuff’.) One lyric in Edge’s rap mentions the “Shadow Man”, which is the name Bono gave to one of his personas on stage during The Joshua Tree Tour 2017.

1. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
2. Dave Stewart. Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: A Life in Music. Berkley, 2016.
3. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
4. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
5. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.

“I Don’t Wanna See You Smile”

Lyrics: Simon Carmody Music: U2
Producer: Lillywhite and Lee

This song was previously released as “Smile”, first in The Complete U2 a digital collection released in 2004 by iTunes, and later on the fan club album, Medium, Rare and Remastered. It was also released commercially as a bonus track on online editions of U218 Singles. Although originally titled just “Smile”, this new release for Re-Assemble lengthens the name. In 2022 while promoting his memoir, Bono shared that he has been working on a new song titled “Smile”, which may be why they’ve changed the name here to something else in case the other “Smile” ever gets released.

The Edge shared that this song was the “sound of music being made in real time.” (1) In the liner notes that accompanied The Complete U2 he shared “Every U2 recording session produces its share of unfinished ideas. Some like ‘Smile’, from the sessions for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, just arrive too late.” (2)

The song is a rarity in the U2 catalog, as the lyrics were not penned by Bono or The Edge. In this case, the lyrics are written by Simon Carmody. Carmody was the front man for Irish band The Golden Horde, formed in Dublin in the 1980s. The band eventually would sign to U2’s Mother Records, releasing albums and singles with the label. The Golden Horde also performed with U2 on the Zoo TV tour. Carmody has become a good friend of Bono’s and frequently acts as co-writer of songs with Bono. He’s worked with Bono, and sometimes others, on “We Are the People” (Martin Garrix with Bono and The Edge), “Where the Shadows Fall” (Willie Nelson), “Streets of Surrender (S.O.S.)” (Zucchero), “I Am the Blues” (Johnny Hallyday), “Sugar Daddy” (Tom Jones), “Drinkin’ in the Day” (Ronnie Drew) and “The Ballad of Ronnie Drew” (U2 and many others).

Edge shared that the song came together through sessions that the band called the “Power Hour”. “The way some of this material came to be, some was created in a room together in this ritual we had which we called the power hour. Instigated initially at Danny Lanois’ suggestion. The band would go into the room for like two hours, twice or three times a week. Literally with no musical agenda or thought. Just let’s see what happens, and often we’d come out after three or four different ideas being initiated with one of them that had some really interesting potential.” (3) These power hour sessions saw the development of “Country Mile”, “Smile”, “Happiness” and “Luckiest Man in the World”.

1. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
2. The Edge. “Liner Notes”. The Complete U2. Apple Music. November 2004.
3. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.

“Country Mile”

Lyrics: Bono with The Edge Music: U2
Producer: Thomas Additional Production: Duncan Stewart

A country mile is a term used to explain the longer times it takes to get somewhere on the winding country roads. It is used to suggest an unexpectedly long distance. The song is an older song, worked on early in the days of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb but left unfinished. Edge shares, “We had another outtake called ‘I Believe You’ and the lyric was almost there, but it really wasn’t great. And Bono says, ‘well I’ve had this phrase country mile for a while, let’s see if we can make that work.’ Sure enough, that phrase in the context of that piece of music…everything just sort of fell into place.” (1) The song started out faster, and the band went through a lot of iterations of the song before leaving it to one side. “We fell in love with these other songs that did make the album. And ‘Country Mile’, I think we just forgot about it. We were in such a creative period.” (2) In fact, it was “Country Mile” that caused Edge to go digging through his old files to see what leftovers might exist. “I remember it, that’s one of the ones that was in my mind when I went looking. I remembered that tune. ‘There’s something amazing’. I had that one and ‘Happiness’…” (3)

The song development didn’t end in 2004, U2 continued to develop the song. “I Believe You” was among a series of new music that leaked after fans recorded songs coming out of Bono’s house on Eze. Other songs captured that night included “Window in the Skies”, an unreleased song called “All My Life” by fans, and “Thank You” which has since been recorded and released by Daniel Lanois. “I Believe You” was worked on by Bono and The Edge further for the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark which debuted on Broadway in late 2010. The song was now called “Boy Falls from the Sky” and is the sole song on the soundtrack album credited to U2 for the writing credits. U2 even performed it during the U2360 tour. “Country Mile” also shares musical elements with “Yahweh” which did appear on How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

The new lyrics were added after U2’s time at Sphere in Las Vegas. Bono uses the line “The key was under the mat, and if it’s raining you should have thought of that”. Many nights at Sphere while performing “Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World” Bono relives a moment where he brought home a balloon to Ali after a night on the town, only to find himself locked out without a key. He asks for help with a key, but we never got resolution at those shows. It sounds like he should have looked under the mat. In “Landlady” on Songs of Experience the doorbell is rung and Ali tells him he has a key. (“Landlady” also mentions “The road, no road without a turn, and if there was, the road would be too long” echoing these lyrics. We suspect “Country Mile” was written with Ali in mind.)

“Country Mile” was released the day the anniversary album was announced, along with “Picture of You (X+W)”. Both songs were sent to radio for promotion, and both songs were made available commercially as a double single. A lyric video for the song was released the same day. It was a radio edit of the song released to radio, with a very different introduction. Although initially available only on radio, six weeks later it was released commercially along with the radio edit of “Picture of You (X+W)”. “Picture of You (X+W)” got more attention at radio, however, “Country Mile” did have some success, reaching #36 on the Airplay charts in the UK.

1. Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, hosts. Episode 279. Sodajerker (Podcast). Aired January 1, 2025.
2. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
3. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.

“Happiness”

Lyrics: Bono with The Edge Music: U2
Producer: Lillywhite and Lee

About this song Edge said, “It’s so not U2, that’s what I love about that song.” (1)

The song is a harder edged song, and fans were quick to recognize that post-2004, the song continued development, and many instrumental elements would be used in the song “Pull the Trigger” for the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark musical. The music for that musical was developed by Bono and The Edge. The song also contains a lyric from “Mercy”, which now appears here on “Happiness” and in “Luckiest Man in the World”. The line is “Happiness is for those who don’t really need it.” Another lyric, “In the desert, it won’t be long, we’re here for the atomic bomb” echoes lyrics found in “Picture of You (X+W)” and the other versions of that song.

Like other songs on the album, more modern touches were added in early 2024. Edge shares that the song “was always one we promised we’d go back to. We really did understand that there was something very special there. Jacknife was key in helping us put manners on that. That was from a 40-minute improv with all these different ideas and sections. The fact that it hangs together as a single piece of music with such disparate ideas is really kind of amazing.” (2)

Of the lyrics Bono shares, “I have poor recollection of that. I remember sitting with the Edge on that. I remember just enjoying the collision of words and I remember the influence of hip hop. I remember that we were in awe of Dr. Dre.” He continues, “they have this fun way of colliding words together. A kaleidoscope of words. So that’s where the lyric came from. I was amused listening to it back, because you do see me trying couplets in all sorts of different places and the one that keeps turning up is of course ‘we’re in the desert…’” (3)

The song was released as a commercial single in advance of the album release on October 24, 2024, the third full song from the album to see release. It was accompanied by a lyric video, a shortened edit of the song for radio, and online footage of Edge and Adam Clayton discussing the song with Zane Lowe.

1. The Edge. “It’s So Not U2” Video. U2 Social Media Accounts. Published October 25, 2024.
2. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
3. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.

“Are You Gonna Wait Forever?”

Lyrics: Bono Music: U2
Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno.

Like “Smile”, this song has been previously released, and there are no new elements added to the mix. “Are You Gonna Wait Forever?” was the B-side to the “Vertigo” single, a song that asks when you are going to get out of your own way and get things done, an idea that bloomed further in “Get Out of Your Own Way” on Songs of Experience. The opening guitar of “Are You Gonna Wait Forever?” is very close to “All Because of You” and it’s likely the two songs were developed from a mutual starting point.

U2 fans first spotted the song title at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio during a U2 exhibit. There was a notebook of song titles on display, identified as being from the recording sessions for All That You Can’t Leave Behind, and “Are You Gonna Wait Forever?” is listed as one of these titles. (1) The fact that the song was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno also suggested it was left over from those sessions, as was the song “Love and Peace or Else”. There were no notes on the song itself outside the title.

On Re-Assemble the song is sub-titled the “Re-Assemble Edition” on streaming services. In 2022 the song was also released again as part of the “Vertigo” single on these services. It appears that both are the same.

1. Aaron Sams. “Are You Gonna Wait Forever? Demo”. U2Songs.com. 2019.

“Theme from ‘The Batman’”

Music: The Edge
Producer: The Edge

In 2004 DC Comics launched a new weekly cartoon series titled The Batman on Kids WB (Warner Brothers). The show ran for five seasons and included a direct to DVD film titled The Batman vs Dracula. The Edge developed the title theme for the series while working on How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

The Edge promoting the song in 2004 shared, “I’m very excited to be a part of what looks like a very interesting new take on Batman. When I’m working on music, and in this case it was no different, I always go for the mood and the rough kind of emotional area that I feel the tune should have. I wanted to do something that was contemporary and had a little bit more threat and a little bit more restraint, because that’s really the character of Batman. I’m really excited to see how it goes. I’m sure it’s going to be a big success.” (1)

In another interview, Edge talks about the formation of the song, “It was just a case of creating a bedrock of something tough and slightly menacing that wasn’t necessarily too heavy and dark. The great thing about the whole ‘Batman’ idea is that it strips down life to the battle between good and evil. You can relate to different sides of that battle at different times.” (2)

The version used in the show had additional sound effects of bats, as well as a voice at the end saying, “The Batman”. On the home video release, various edits are heard varying from 00:06 to 01:00 in length. The version on Re-Assemble is missing the sound effects, and the voice at the end, and runs longer than what has previously been released.

On why it was included on this collection The Edge says: “We just said ‘let’s throw it in’ because it had never been released. Maybe it’s on YouTube somewhere, but it never appeared on a U2 record.” (3)

1. “The Batman” Promotional Video. KidsWB. September 2004.
2. Joe D’Angelo. “New Batman Cartoon Gets Edgy Theme from U2 Guitarist”. MTV. Published September 10, 2004.
3. Andy Greene. “The Edge Looks Back on ‘Atomic Bomb’, ahead to U2’s New Album”. Rolling Stone. November 11, 2004.

“All Because of You 2”

Lyrics: Bono Music: U2
Producer: Chris Thomas

“All Because of You” is well known by fans. The song appeared on the Dismantle album and was released as a single through the original How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb promotional arc. In North America it had been the second single released, and in the rest of the world it was the fourth single. As part of The Complete U2, an alternate demo version of the song was also released. The version here is newly created in 2024.

Bono spoke about going back to a finished song and completing it, “I don’t know who said this, ‘you don’t finish the recording you just abandon it.’ In this case we just didn’t. We hid it. By abandoning it, meaning you just put it out there before it’s finished. We didn’t. We finished it now. If you want to hear ‘All Because of You’ the original? That’s the original. That’s as close, that’s the intention. And ‘Pictures of You’, that’s the best version of that that happened. It is annoying and humbling that it took us this long to figure out how to get out of its way”. (1)

The Edge shared how his vocals ended up playing a role in this new version, “That was what was funny about the work we did on this collection. Bono was so complimentary of my singing and so down on his own singing. When we did ‘All Because of You 2’ I was like Bono, this is the absolute best vocal. This is great as it is. ‘No, it’s not. You’ll have to double me.’ And that’s the formula that worked.” (2) Bono shares a comparison to the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout”, and how “two of us together could handle this lyric.” (3)

“All Because of You” was released as a single twice during the initial campaign. In February 2005 it was released to radio, and there was a commercial single in Canada. In October / November 2005 it was released in the rest of the world. The latter release saw U2 release a new “single mix” of the song, even then trying to make improvements to the song. A promotional video shot by Phil Joanou, saw U2 playing the song on a flatbed truck as it wound through the streets of New York, before coming to a stop at the park below the Brooklyn Bridge where they staged a free concert. In 2005 the song reached #4 in the UK and Irish charts, #13 in the Billboard European Hot 100 and #4 in the Canadian sales charts. It also reached #6 in Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart on the strength of airplay. Not bad for a song U2 felt wasn’t finished. Adam shared, “Often when we have something which is straight rock it never goes anywhere – we just keep churning it around. But this was one or two takes.” (4) It sounds like we now have take three.

1. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
2. Zane Lowe, host. “The Zane Lowe Show”. Apple Music. Aired September 26, 2024.
3. David Fricke, host. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 20th Anniversary Special”. U2 X-Radio on SiriusXM. Aired November 22, 2024.
4. Q Magazine Paul Rees

Extras from the Era

The 20th anniversary editions included two boxed sets, one on vinyl, and one on CD. The contents in both were the same, the main album including “Fast Cars”, the Re-Assemble album, an audio release of the Live from Chicago show for the first time, and a collection of remixes. Although most of the remixes were previously released, a few new remixes were issued for the first time. Three remixes by Redanka, commissioned for the original singles, and leaked over the years but never officially released are here including “All Because of You” (Redanka Indian Summer Mix), “Miracle Drug” (Redanka Miracle Dub), and “Miracle Drug” (Redanka Zootopian Vocal Mix). A new-to-fans remix of “One Step Closer” called the Asian Temple Remix is also included, remixed by Chris Heaney. Also of note is the inclusion of “City of Blinding Lights” (Hot Chip 2006 Remix), released previously only via the fan club release Artificial Horizon.

As mentioned above, four songs were released to radio, and all had special edits done to accompany the release. These were released for promotion only, however, the edits of “Picture of You (X+W)” and “Country Mile” were later released as a digital single. “Vertigo” was also released to DJs with several remixes. Two new edits of remixes from the original campaign, an edit of the Jacknife Lee 12” Mix, and an edit of the Redanka Power Mix, were made available.

And while only four lyric videos were made available to promote the album, 18 “Visualiser” videos were made for tracks on How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb via YouTube. These videos are reminiscent of screen savers, featuring the song playing in the background while patterns and the name of the songs move across the screen.

Related Discography Entries

For more information on the Atomic Bomb anniversary releases, we’ve collected links to more information in our discography below.

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