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"Walk On" is a song by Irish
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band U2. It is the fourth track on their tenth studio album, ''
All That You Can't Leave Behind ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' is the tenth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and was released on 30October 2000 through Island Records and Interscope Records. Following the band's experiment ...
'' (2000). The song was first released in Canada on 20 February 2001, then was given a UK release in November of the same year; it was the album's second single in Canada and the fourth internationally. The song was written about Burmese academic
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...
, who was the
chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the
National League for Democracy The National League for Democracy ( my, အမျိုးသား ဒီမိုကရေစီ အဖွဲ့ချုပ်, ; Abbreviation, abbr. NLD; Burmese abbr. ဒီချုပ်) is a liberal democratic political party in Myanm ...
and was placed under house arrest from 1989 until 2010 for her pro-democracy activities, which led to the song being banned in Burma. In 2002, the song won the
Grammy Award for Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, marking the first time an artist had won the award for songs from the same album in consecutive years. In the United States, the song peaked at number 21 on the
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
, number 19 on the
Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
chart, and number 10 on the
Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart. It also topped the charts in Canada and Portugal, and reached the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.


Writing and composition

In March 2000, U2 were awarded the
Freedom of the City of Dublin The Freedom of the City of Dublin is awarded by Dublin City Council after approving a person nominated by the Lord Mayor. Eighty-two people have been honoured under the current process introduced in 1876. Most honourees have made a contribution ...
at a ceremony where Burmese academic
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...
was honoured but absent. The band had never heard of Suu Kyi prior to that but learned that her activism and fighting for freedom in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
led to her being under
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
since 1989 (a sentence that was later ended in 2010). Her story inspired U2 lead vocalist
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
for the lyrics to "Walk On".McCormick (2006), pp. 295–296 At first, Bono tried writing from the perspective of Suu Kyi's husband and son, imagining them living with the pain of not knowing how she was. After he felt that it was too presumptuous, Bono changed the lyrics to be more abstract and to be "a love song about somebody having to leave a relationship for all the right reasons".Stokes (2005), pp. 151–152 He said the song was about "nobility and personal sacrifice, about doing what's right, even if your heart is telling you otherwise." In explaining the lyrics, he recalled a Biblical passage in
Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...
that used the image of a house fire to impart the lesson that only eternal things can survive. To Bono, these things were family and friendships, rather than anything material that someone could create. Accordingly, "Walk On" concludes with lyrics describing a "litany of ambitions and achievements" that are expendable, with lines such as "You've got to leave it behind / All that you fashion / All that you make / All that you build / All that you break". Bono described this section as: "a mantra, really, a bonfire of vanities, and you can throw anything you want on the fire. Whatever you want more than love, it has to go." The album's title was derived from the song's lyrics "The only baggage you can bring is all that you can't leave behind." Suu Kyi later told Bono that she liked the song, saying, "it's very close to how I feel". As U2 worked on "Walk On" during the recording sessions, they decided to split it into two separate songs: "Walk On" and "Home". The album's producers
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
and
Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...
advised the group that the mix of "Walk On" "was not one to chase", but Bono insisted they continue working on it. Towards the end of the album's recording sessions, the band's long-time producer
Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...
was hired to make final touches to the songs. After he completed "
Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, h ...
", the band played "Walk On" and "Home" for him. Lillywhite told them that "Walk On" had a "fantastic chorus" and "Home" a "great verse"; the band subsequently informed him that they were formerly the same song. Ultimately, under Lillywhite's guidance, the separate songs were fused back together. Bassist
Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-born Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock band U2. He has resided in County Dublin, Ireland since his family moved to Malahide in 1965, when he was five years old. Cla ...
concurred with the decision, saying that each track had great chord progressions but were not great individual songs. Lanois preferred a different version of the song with a more low-key beginning, saying: "When it gets to that stage of making a record, people are looking for songs that the record company can proudly go to radio with. And the ultimate version comes along with a bang, you know. The Edge sounds amazing and it holds so much promise in its first 30 seconds that it's hard to say no to. But the version that I preferred did not have such a slam-bam beginning. So that one got welded and bolted together." Most of the guitar tone on "Walk On" was achieved by guitarist
the Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...
playing his white
Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...
through his
Vox AC30 The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox. It was introduced in 1958 to meet the growing demand for louder amplifiers. Characterised by its "jangly" high-end sound it has become widely recognized by British musicians and others, su ...
amplifier, while the guitar solo was performed on his
Gibson Explorer The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar model by Gibson guitars, released in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Flying V, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which ...
.


Release

"Walk On" was first issued in Canada on 20 February 2001 as two
CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...
s. The following month, on 6 March,
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
serviced the track to US
hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
radio.
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
subsequently released the single in the UK on 19 November 2001 and in Australia on 3 December 2001. The same photograph is used for each release though the colouring varies. "Walk On" has been re-released in its edit edition for the charity album, ''Songs for Japan''.


Controversy

The ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' album caused controversy in Burma because "Walk On" was dedicated to Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest for her pro-democracy activities, which led to the album being banned. Democratic Voice of Burma correspondent Myint Maung Maung told British music magazine ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', "The album was banned because it included the song, 'Walk On', which was a dedication to Aung San Suu Kyi and the democracy movement in Burma." Anyone who attempted to import the album, ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'', to Burma could face a prison sentence lasting between three and twenty years. When the album was released, U2.com had a page addressing attention to the political situation in Burma, where they say 8 million people have been consigned to forced labour and half a million people are the target of ethnic cleansing campaigns.


Music videos

The first video for "Walk On" - titled "International Version" - was directed by Jonas Åkerlund. Filming took place in November 2000 and was filmed in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
during U2's two-day promotion there. Some shots, including the band playing with a soccer ball on a beach and the band meeting fans, were improvised and the video was made to be documentary styled. Åkerlund stated it will always be one of his favourite music videos. Later in February 2001, a second video - titled "U.S. version" - was directed by
Liz Friedlander Liz Friedlander is an American music video, television director and television producer. Originally from New York City, Friedlander moved to Pennsylvania to attend the Drama Conservatory school at Carnegie Mellon University. She then moved to Lo ...
and filmed in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Both were featured on the compilation DVD '' U218 Videos''. In response to Suu Kyi's condoning of 2017 hostilities, the "International Version" of the video on YouTube was edited, replacing a dedication to her at the end with a message in support of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.


Live performances

The song's uplifting nature led to it being used frequently to close concerts during U2's 2001
Elevation Tour The Elevation Tour was a worldwide concert tour by Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2000 album ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'', the tour visited arenas across North America and Europe in 2001. Contrasting with the extrava ...
. The song found added resonance as a supportive, uplifting anthem following the
September 11th attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
that year in the United States. The band performed it during the '' America: A Tribute to Heroes'' television benefit concert on 21 September 2001. The first performance of the song for a live audience following the 11 September attacks was at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
on 10 October 2001, where the band brought on stage members of the
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and
Fire Department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
s. Live versions of the song were released on the
concert film A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...
s '' Elevation 2001: Live from Boston'', '' U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle'', and ''
U2 360° at the Rose Bowl U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pro ...
.'' During the
Vertigo Tour The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2004 album ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums between March 2005 and December 2006. The Vertigo Tour ...
, it appeared rarely, usually in an acoustic format. It was snippeted after " Running to Stand Still" on the Vertigo Tour at the dates closest to 19 June, the birthday of
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...
. The song was a regular part of the set list for the
U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band playing "in the round" ...
. Prior to the tour, the band asked fans to bring masks of Suu Kyi to concerts and wear them during performances of "Walk On" in support of her. In some cities such as
Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
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and
İstanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
and ONE volunteers went on stage and lined the outer perimeter of it during U2's performance of the song, carrying either Suu Kyi masks or Amnesty International lanterns. In June 2012, Bono performed the song live for Suu Kyi during the Electric Burma concert in Dublin in her honour. In 2017, the song took new meaning after Suu Kyi's silence on the genocide of
Rohingya Muslims The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
. Bono has stated that he has been "nauseated" by Suu Kyi's stance on the issue, the band issued a release condemning her actions, and following performances of "Walk On" have instead dedicated the song to Rohingya Muslims.


Critical reception

At the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony in 2002, "Walk On" was nominated for two awards:
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
and
Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
. It won for Record of the Year, marking the first time an artist had won the award for songs from the same album in consecutive years; the prior year, U2's song "Beautiful Day" had won the award. At the 45th Annual Grammy Awards in 2003, U2's performance of "Walk On" for the ''America: A Tribute to Heroes'' benefit was nominated for
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011. The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...
. In 2002, "Walk On" won the
Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, as well as a Meteor Music Award for Best Irish Rock Single.


Formats and track listings


Personnel

*
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
– lead vocals, guitar *
The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...
– guitar, backing vocals, piano *
Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-born Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock band U2. He has resided in County Dublin, Ireland since his family moved to Malahide in 1965, when he was five years old. Cla ...
– bass guitar *
Larry Mullen Jr. Laurence Joseph Mullen Jr. (; born 31 October 1961) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band U2. Mullen was born in Dublin, where he attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School. In 1976, he co-founded U2 ...
– drums


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Release history


References

Footnotes Bibliography * *


External links


Lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walk On (Song) 2000 songs 2001 singles U2 songs Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Portugal Grammy Award for Record of the Year Music videos directed by Jonas Åkerlund Music videos directed by Liz Friedlander Island Records singles Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by Brian Eno Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. Song recordings produced by Daniel Lanois