4th of July (U2 song)

1984 instrumental by U2

"4th of July"

Instrumental by U2
from the album  The Unforgettable Fire
Released| 1 October 1984
Genre| Ambient
Length| 2:12
Label| Island
Composer(s)| U2
Producer(s)|

* Brian Eno
* Daniel Lanois

"4th of July" is a song by Irish rock band U2, and is the sixth track from their 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire. The song is an instrumental ambient track that was spontaneously improvised by bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist the Edge while producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois recorded, unbeknownst to the band. It has never been performed live, although Clayton did play it as a warm-up during a soundcheck before U2's concert in San Jose on 20 April 2001.[1]

## Description

[edit]

"4th of July" came about almost entirely through a moment of inspiration from Eno through capturing a moment. At the end of a studio session, Eno overheard Adam Clayton doodling on a simple bass figure, with guitarist The Edge joining in and improvising a few bottleneck guitar ideas over the top of Clayton's bass. Eno liked what he was hearing, so unbeknownst to both of them, he recorded it ad hoc as it was being played, straight to two-track 1/4-inch master tape - and that was the song finished, with no possibility of redoing parts of it later.[2][3] Eno added further treatments on Edge's guitar sound whilst recording, resulting in keyboard-like sounds even though there are two instruments playing throughout.[4] Eventually, the piece would be forgotten about until it was unearthed at the end of the sessions, and Bono insisted on its inclusion on The Unforgettable Fire.[5] A two-minute excerpt of the 10-minute-long improvisation was included.[6]

U2 called it "4th of July" to commemorate the birth of Edge's daughter, Hollie, Bono's godchild, who was born on that date, right in the middle of making the album.[7]

It is the only instrumental song on a regular full-length U2 album (not including Passengers). It was frequently used as the last song played before U2 took the stage during the Unforgettable Fire Tour. The song is regularly played on Music Choice's "Sounds of the Seasons" channel when playing patriotic music in the days leading to (and during) the Fourth of July holiday.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Axver, Matthias (20 April 2001). "U2 San Jose, 2001-04-20, San Jose Arena, Elevation Tour – U2 on tour". U2gigs.com. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
2. ^ Stokes, Niall, Into the Heart: The Stories Behind Every U2 Song.
3. ^ Obrecht, Jas; Nolan, Tom (June 1985). ""The Edge Of U2"". Guitar Player.
4. ^ Hutchinson, John (September 1986). "U2's Leading Edge". Musician. p. 34.
5. ^ Sweeting, Adam (January 1985). "U2 can have an Edge like this". One Two Testing.
6. ^ Deevoy, Adrian; Bashe, Philip (January 1985). "Electric Fire". International Musician And Recording World (UK).
7. ^ Edge; Adam Clayton; Larry Mullen Jr. (9 October 2007). U2 by U2. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-077674-9.

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U2 songs

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* Covers

1970s|

* "Out of Control"

1980s|

* "Another Day"
* "11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
* "A Day Without Me"
* "I Will Follow"
* "An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart"
* "The Electric Co."
* "Fire"
* "Gloria"
* "October"
* "A Celebration"
* "New Year's Day"
* "Two Hearts Beat as One"
* "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
* "Seconds"
* "Red Light"
* "Pride (In the Name of Love)"
* "The Unforgettable Fire"
* "A Sort of Homecoming"
* "4th of July"
* "Bad"
* "Elvis Presley and America"
* "MLK"
* "With or Without You"
* "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
* "Where the Streets Have No Name"
* "In God's Country"
* "One Tree Hill"
* "Bullet the Blue Sky"
* "Running to Stand Still"
* "Red Hill Mining Town"
* "Trip Through Your Wires"
* "Exit"
* "Mothers of the Disappeared"
* "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
* "Desire"
* "Angel of Harlem"
* "When Love Comes to Town"
* "All I Want Is You"
* "Hawkmoon 269"
* "Heartland"
* "God Part II"

1990s|

* "Night and Day"
* "The Fly"
* "Mysterious Ways"
* "One"
* "Even Better Than the Real Thing"
* "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses"
* "Zoo Station"
* "Until the End of the World"
* "So Cruel"
* "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World"
* "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)"
* "Acrobat"
* "Love Is Blindness"
* "Numb"
* "Lemon"
* "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"
* "Zooropa"
* "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car"
* "Dirty Day"
* "The Wanderer"
* "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
* "Miss Sarajevo"
* "Slug"
* "Your Blue Room"
* "Discothèque"
* "Staring at the Sun"
* "Last Night on Earth"
* "Please"
* "If God Will Send His Angels"
* "Mofo"
* "Gone"
* "Sweetest Thing"

2000s|

* "The Ground Beneath Her Feet"
* "Beautiful Day"
* "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"
* "Elevation"
* "Walk On"
* "Kite"
* "In a Little While"
* "Wild Honey"
* "Peace on Earth"
* "When I Look at the World"
* "New York"
* "Electrical Storm"
* "The Hands That Built America"
* "Take Me to the Clouds Above"
* "Vertigo"
* "All Because of You"
* "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own"
* "City of Blinding Lights"
* "Miracle Drug"
* "A Man and a Woman"
* "One Step Closer"
* "Original of the Species"
* "Yahweh"
* "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
* "The Saints Are Coming"
* "Window in the Skies"
* "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew"
* "Get On Your Boots"
* "Magnificent"
* "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"
* "No Line on the Horizon"
* "Moment of Surrender"
* "Unknown Caller"
* "Stand Up Comedy"
* "Fez – Being Born"
* "White as Snow"
* "Breathe"
* "Cedars of Lebanon"
* "Winter"

2010s|

* "Ordinary Love"
* "Invisible"
* "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)"
* "Every Breaking Wave"
* "Song for Someone"
* "You're the Best Thing About Me"
* "Get Out of Your Own Way"
* "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way"
* "XXX"

2020s|

* "Your Song Saved My Life"
* "Atomic City"

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The Unforgettable Fire track listing

* "A Sort of Homecoming"
* "Pride (In the Name of Love)"
* "Wire"
* "The Unforgettable Fire"
* "Promenade"
* "4th of July"
* "Bad"
* "Indian Summer Sky"
* "Elvis Presley and America"
* "MLK"

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