"Staring at the Sun" 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 1997 album, '' Pop'', and was released as its second single on 14 April 1997. It peaked at number three on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, number one in Canada and Iceland and number 26 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In the US, it topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks 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 ...

and

Adult Alternative Songs Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...

charts. It also reached the top 10 in Finland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and Norway.

Background

The song was written with the line "Stuck together with God's glue," which was taken directly from the title of the album by the Irish band

Something Happens Something Happens are an Irish pop-rock band whose heyday was the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's lineup consists of Tom Dunne (Vocals), Ray Harman (Guitar), Alan Byrne (Bass) and Eamonn Ryan (Drums). An earlier incarnation of the band ...

, who are good friends with U2. The band felt the song was a potential "anthem to rival ' One'." A new mix of "Staring at the Sun" was released for the compilation, '' The Best of 1990-2000''. During the summer of 2002 recording sessions in which "

Electrical Storm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

" and "

The Hands That Built America "The Hands That Built America" is a song by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It was released on the Gangs of New York: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture, soundtrack to the film ''Gangs of New York'', and was one of two new songs on the group's ...

" were recorded, parts for four U2 songs were re-recorded, including "Staring at the Sun." The song has been compared to the work of

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. A

kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...

bearing the single's logo in gold was distributed to promote the single.

Critical reception

British magazine ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. They added, "Possibly the most obvious single on ''Pop'', this track is awash with a melancholy that's amplified by

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 ...

's plangent, keening guitar signature. Big." David Sinclair from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' wrote, ""God is good, but will He listen?"

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 ...

asks in this solid return to traditional U2 territory. Does He have a choice?"

Live performances

"Staring at the Sun" was played at most of the

PopMart Tour The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 1997 album '' Pop'', the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks in 1997 and 1998. Much like the band's previous Zoo TV Tour, PopMart w ...

shows. However, during the first concert at Las Vegas, U2 failed to time the song correctly and had to start over. Bono singing at the wrong tempo was to blame for the mistake. The song was performed acoustically for most of the rest of that tour. It had several appearances on 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 extrav ...

, being the only ''Pop'' song to be performed on all three legs of the Elevation Tour. Sometimes it also appeared as a snippet in "

Discothèque A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

". It was performed as a live staple of the North American leg of the 2018 Experience + Innocence Tour." It appeared in the live videos/ recordings '' Please: PopHeart Live EP'', "

Please ''Please'' is a word used in the English language to indicate politeness and respect while making a request. Derived from shortening the phrase "if you please" or "if it please(s) you", the term has taken on substantial nuance based on its in ...

" single, '' PopMart: Live from Mexico City'', '' Hasta la Vista Baby!'' and '' U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland''.

Formats and track listings

These remixes by Brothers in Rhythm originated as bootlegs on 12" vinyl. They use the live Rotterdam performance featured on the "

" single rather than the album version. U2 approved it for limited promotional use to coincide with the release of '' The Best of 1990-2000''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staring At The Sun (U2 Song) 1997 singles U2 songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Iceland Island Records singles Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. Song recordings produced by Flood (producer)