Songfacts®:

• The Edge pointed out to Q magazine February 2009 that producer "Brian (Eno) says it's our best ever song."
• Like "Get on Your Boots," this rock waltz in 6/8 time features stream-of-consciousness lyrical content. Bono revealed to The London Times that the song's torrent of impressionist verse was influenced by the fact that he was reading a book by American novelist Cormac McCarthy while U2 were recording No Line on The Horizon.
• The song begins with the line: "16th of June, 9.05, doorbell rings." June 16th is celebrated in Dublin as Bloomsday, the day explored in its entirety by the city's most famous author, James Joyce, in his novel Ulysses.
• No Line on the Horizon co-producer Daniel Lanois told The National Post that The Edge developed this song without the involvement of him or the other producer Brian Eno. He explained: "We worked on a version for a very long time which was great. But in the end they abandoned that and re-performed it. The Edge has got a little set-up at home. We worked on everything collectively. Some things got a little more attention with Steve Lillywhite and the band."
• A new acoustic version of this song appeared on the B-side of the 10" single for "Ordinary Love." The disc was released as part of Record Store Day's Back to Black Friday event on November 29, 2013.