"Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World" 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 Wale ...

band U2, and the ninth track on their 1991 album, ''

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

''. It is a tongue-in-cheek song about stumbling home drunk after a night out on the town. It is dedicated to the Flaming Colossus nightclub in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The album version includes keyboard playing by producer

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

. The line "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" is a quotation from

Irina Dunn Irina Patsi Dunn (born 17 March 1948) is an Australian writer, social activist and filmmaker, who served in the Australian Senate between 1988 and 1990. Born in Shanghai, Dunn grew up in Australia and studied at the University of Sydney. In 19 ...

Live performances

During live performances on

Zoo TV Tour The Zoo TV Tour (also written as ZooTV, ZOO TV or ZOOTV) was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock music, rock band U2. Staged primarily to support their 1991 album ''Achtung Baby'' and later their 1993 album ''Zooropa'', the tour visited ...

from 1992 to 1993, lead singer

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

would spray a bottle of

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

towards the audience. It was played 136 times on the tour. The song was edited out of the live video release '' Zoo TV: Live from Sydney''; it was later revealed that the concert ran long and the song needed to be edited in order to fit the concert into a two-hour timeslot. Aside from being snippeted at three concerts during the final leg of the

U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock music, 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 pla ...

in July 2011, the song was not performed again until the band's 2023–2024 U2:UV ''Achtung Baby'' residency at the

Sphere A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

in the Las Vegas Valley. During performances, a digital chalk drawing of a balloon, designed by the Edge's wife Morleigh Steinberg, was displayed high on the venue's LED screen. It was attached to an actual tether of knotted-up bedsheets that Bono held. Initial performances featured him picking a fan from the crowd to join him on stage to hold the tether and swing in it; later performances added a prop door, with the story being that Bono had returned home with the balloon only to realise he was locked out and unable to find his keys as he peered through the peephole.

Covers

The song was reworked for the 2011 tribute album '' AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered'' by

The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut studio album, '' How to Save a Life'' (2005) was released by Epic Records and received quadruple platinum certific ...

. The Denver quartet had supported U2 on the seventh leg of the 360° Tour, during which The Fray's

Isaac Slade Isaac Edward Slade (born May 26, 1981) is an American singer and musician; the former lead vocalist, main songwriter, pianist and co-founder of Colorado-based rock band The Fray. Education Slade attended the University of Colorado Denver, wher ...

celebrated his 30th birthday. "They gave me a

ping-pong Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

table," he recalled, "and a ping-pong paddle with sunglasses drawn on it."

Personnel

– lead vocals *

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...

– guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *

Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock music, rock band U2. Born in Oxfordshire, England, he lived in County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland after his family moved to ...

– 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. A member of the band since its inception, he has recorded 15 studio albums with U2. Mullen's distinctive ...

– drums, percussion *

– additional keyboards *

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd ...

– additional guitar

References

External links

Lyrics and list of performances
at U2.com 1991 songs U2 songs 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 {{1990s-rock-song-stub

Live performances

Covers

Personnel

See also

References

External links