"Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" 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 fifth track on their 1991 album ''

Achtung Baby ''Achtung Baby'' () is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 18 November 1991 on Island Records. After criticism of their 1988 release ''Rattle and Hum'', U2 shifte ...

'', and was released as its fifth and final single in November 1992.

Writing and recording

"Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" began as a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

that the band recorded at STS Studios in 1990.McCormick, Neil (ed), (2006). U2 by U2. HarperCollins Publishers. . p. 228. The band worked on it during the formal ''Achtung Baby'' sessions, including several failed attempts at

Hansa Studios Hansa Tonstudio is a recording studio located in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, Germany. The studio, famous for its Meistersaal recording hall, is situated approximately 150 metres from the former Berlin Wall, giving rise to its former nickna ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. This produced several versions of the song and about a dozen

mix Mix, mixes or mixing may refer to: Persons & places * Mix (surname) ** Tom Mix (1880-1940), American film star * nickname of Mix Diskerud (born Mikkel, 1990), Norwegian-American soccer player * Mix camp, an informal settlement in Namibia * Mix ...

es. However, the original demo remained their preferred version. Producer

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...

, in particular, expressed his preference for the demo version when 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 ...

played it for him. During the group's time recording in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1991, 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 brought on to provide a "fresh pair of ears" and mix the song. The album version most closely resembles the original demo. Lillywhite recalls that, "They hated that song. I spent a month on it and I still don't think it was as realised as it could've been. The Americans had heard it and said, 'That's your radio song there', because they were having trouble with some of the more industrial elements

f the album F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

It's almost like a covers band doing a U2 moment. Maybe we tried too hard." Bono said, "It's a song I feel we didn't quite nail on the record because there was another whole set of lyrics that were dumped and I wrote those quickly and off we went." The band later released an alternately arranged "Temple Bar Remix" as the single, the version of the song they most prefer. The band also has claimed they find the song difficult to perform in concert. 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 ...

said, "It's a great torch song, with melody and emotion, but I don't think we ever captured it again and we have never really been able to play the song live."

Single release

When the covers to "

Even Better Than the Real Thing "Even Better Than the Real Thing" is a song by Irish rock band U2, and is the second track on their 1991 album, ''Achtung Baby''. It was released as the album's fourth single on 8 June 1992, and it reached number three in Ireland and Canada whi ...

," " The Fly," "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," and "

Mysterious Ways Mysterious Ways may refer to: * "Mysterious Ways" (song), a song by U2 from the 1991 album ''Achtung Baby'' * ''Mysterious Ways'' (TV series), science-fiction television series which ran from 2000 to 2002 *''Mysterious Ways'', a 1990 album by Steve ...

" are arranged, a picture of the band members driving a

Trabant Trabant () is a series of small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. In total, four different models were made, the Trabant 500, Trabant 600, Trabant 601, and the Tra ...

is formed. The single includes Bono's solo version of " Can't Help Falling in Love," which was recorded in STS studios in Dublin on 29 June 1992 for the movie ''

Honeymoon in Vegas ''Honeymoon in Vegas'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman and starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. Plot Private Detective ("Private eye") Jack Singer (Nicolas Cage) swore to hi ...

''. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 23 November 1992.

Live performances

The song was performed in full during the first two legs and the first show of the third leg during the

Zoo TV Tour The Zoo TV Tour (also written as ZooTV, ZOO TV or ZOOTV) was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album '' Achtung Baby'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 to 1993. It was intended to mirror ...

in 1992, often featuring extended bridges or extra solos by The Edge. It made a few appearances during the rest of the tour in a shorter, solo acoustic form. Lines from the song were added at the end of their song "

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...

" during the final leg of the

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 ...

. 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 ...

, the song has appeared on several occasions, first in an electric version similar to the album version, and later in an acoustic version somewhat reminiscent of the "Temple Bar Remix" used for the single. Thirteen years later, the song became an integral part of the so-called "Zoo Suite" during the

Experience + Innocence Tour The Experience + Innocence Tour (styled as eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour) was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the band's 2017 album, ''Songs of Experience'', the tour visited arenas throughout 2018. Comprising two ...

in 2018.

Garbage cover version

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...

reworked the song for the 2011 tribute album ''

AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered ''AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered'', stylized as ''(Ăhk-to͝ong Ba͞y-bi) Covered'' or ''(Ăℎk-to͝ong Ba͞y-bi) Covered'', is a tribute album featuring cover versions of the 12 songs from U2's 1991 record ''Achtung Baby''. It was released on 26 ...

''. "''Achtung Baby'' was a huge influence on the first Garbage album," remarked

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album ''Neve ...

. "It's groovy and gritty, hi-fi and

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l. We picked this song because we love the lyrics. We stripped the verses down and changed the

major chord In music theory, a major chord is a chord that has a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a major triad. For example, the major triad built on C, called a C major triad, has pitch ...

minor chord In music theory, a minor chord is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a minor triad. For example, the minor triad built on C, called a C minor triad, has pit ...

, which makes the lyrics more bittersweet. We were in the studio making the new Garbage album at the time; this was a good distraction."

Formats and track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics and list of performances
at U2.com {{Authority control 1992 singles U2 songs Island 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 Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite Music videos directed by Phil Joanou 1991 songs