"City of Blinding Lights" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the fifth track on their eleventh studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), and was released as the album's fourth single on 6 June 2005. It was produced by Flood, with additional production by Chris Thomas and Jacknife Lee. The song reached number one in Spain, and peaked in the top ten in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. The music video was shot at the General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The earliest incarnation of the song was developed during sessions for the band's 1997 album, Pop. The lyrics were written by the band's lead vocalist Bono, taking partial inspiration from his recollection of his first trip to London, and from the band's experience playing in New York City in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks during their Elevation Tour in 2001. Other lyrics refer to Bono's relationship with his wife Ali. The song's underlying theme reflects lost innocence and was inspired by an image Bono saw of himself from the early 1980s. The sound has been compared to the tone of U2's 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire and their 1987 single "Where the Streets Have No Name".
"City of Blinding Lights" was well received by critics and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song at the 2006 ceremony. The song made its live debut on the group's 2005–2006 Vertigo Tour, when it was commonly played as the opening song. It has been performed at nearly every show from a U2 concert tour since. The track has been used in episodes of The Simpsons and Entourage, and in the film The Devil Wears Prada. Former U.S. President Barack Obama used the song at his campaign events during the 2008 and 2012 U.S. presidential elections, and listed it as one of his favourite songs; U2 performed it at his 2009 inaugural celebration at the Lincoln Memorial; and the song was used as Obama's entrance music for his acceptance speeches at the Democratic National Conventions of 2008 and 2012, as well as the speeches he delivered at the conventions of 2016 and 2024.
Writing and inspiration U2 developed "City of Blinding Lights" from a song called "Scott Walker", an outtake from the band's 1997 album Pop. This incarnation, written as an homage to the singer of the same name, was only an outline when the recording sessions for Pop concluded. The group reworked it in preparation for their 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, but the song was still unfinished when that album was released. They rewrote the song for their 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.Stokes (2005), p. 172 Bassist Adam Clayton said, "There was a melody and a groove that ultimately didn't go anywhere and we kind of threw out everything, found chords that worked with that melody and built it back up, new drum parts, new bass parts, new guitars."McCormick (2006), p. 324
A photographic exhibition in the Netherlands by longtime band photographer Anton Corbijn served as a thematic inspiration for the song. Lead vocalist Bono saw an image of himself boarding a helicopter, taken in 1982 during filming of the music video for "New Year's Day". A journalist asked him what he would say to his younger self if given the chance; Bono replied, "I'd tell him he's absolutely right and stop second guessing himself." He explained his comments later, saying, "I realized how much I'd lost ... that way of looking at the world. There was such a clarity to it, but it was so defiant in a way."
The chorus was inspired by U2's first concert in New York City following the September 11 attacks during their 2001 Elevation Tour. When the lights illuminated the audience during a performance of "Where the Streets Have No Name", the band saw tears streaming down the faces of many fans.Stokes (2005), p. 173 Upon seeing this raw release of emotion, Bono shouted, "Oh you look so beautiful tonight"; later, the band integrated the line into the chorus. The fans' passion, along with the resolve of the city following the attack, were the primary inspirations for many of the song's other lyrics.
Composition and theme "City of Blinding Lights" is played in common time at a tempo of 139 beats per minute in two keys: A♭ major in the verses, and E♭ major in the chorus.Guitar Recorded Version (2005), pp. 33, 37–38
The album version of the song runs for 5:47. It begins with a low note played on an electric guitar with heavy delay and distortion. The note is sustained for ten seconds as its harmonics gradually feed back. A pulsing rhythm guitar part with muted staccato chords by the Edge then begins underneath. After a further ten seconds it is joined by lower-register guitar drones played by the Edge, and a repetition of eight descending piano notes performed by the Edge and Bono. Forty-five seconds into the song, halfway through the introduction, Clayton's bass and percussion by drummer Larry Mullen Jr. fade into the song with producer Jacknife Lee's synthesizers, which play part of the melody line. The first verse begins at 1:20 and is accompanied by the bass, drums and rhythm guitar playing the chord progression A–E–D.Guitar Recorded Version (2005), pp. 35–36 This alters to B–D in the pre-chorus, with a short harmony vocal line leading to the E–D chorus.Guitar Recorded Version (2005), pp. 35–39
After the second chorus, the lead guitar alternates with Bono's repeated "Time" into the B–A bridge before returning to an extended chorus.Guitar Recorded Version (2005), pp. 42–44 The vocals range from D3 in the verses to a peak of C5 in the chorus.Guitar Recorded Version (2005), pp. 35, 38–39 The Edge provides backing vocals in the second verse, the first three chorus lines, and the bridge lyric "Time won't leave me as I am / Time won't take the boy out of this man". There is no chorus after the third verse; instead, the track enters into a coda where, after restating the introductory piano theme, the guitar, bass, and drum parts come to a finish. The song concludes on a final reprise of the piano notes. The radio edit, with a run-time of 4:11, is 1:36 shorter than the album version. The introduction is half the length and the bass and drums enter after only two repetitions of the piano notes. The first two verses are kept intact but the bridge is shortened by seven seconds, removing two calls of "Time". The third verse is cut and the coda shortened by twenty seconds.
The sound of "City of Blinding Lights" has been compared to U2's 1987 single "Where the Streets Have No Name", prompted by a similar style of guitar playing, as well as to the atmospheric tone of the band's 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire. The melding of guitar and piano in the introduction was likened by the Edmonton Journal to the Coldplay song "Clocks". Rolling Stone described the song as "building into a bittersweet lament", while Uncut said it was "beautiful but slightly sinister", comparing the quality of the lyrics to the George Harrison song "The Inner Light".
The underlying theme of "City of Blinding Lights", reflected in the chorus, is lost innocence. The theme was reinforced during an impromptu concert at Empire–Fulton Ferry State Park under the Brooklyn Bridge; Bono introduced the song by reminiscing about the first time the band arrived in New York City, calling it "a song about innocence and naïvete." Bono developed the opening stanza from a memory of his first trip to London with his future wife, Alison Stewart, when they were teenagers. The experience of walking through Piccadilly Circus and along Wardour Street put him in mind of "discovering what a big city could offer you and what it could take away." Although the first verse is set in London, the chorus is set in New York City. The verse, "I've seen you walk unafraid / I've seen you in the clothes you've made / Can you see the beauty inside of me? / What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?" was written as an expression of love for Alison, with a reflection on their life together as they grow older.
Like many other U2 songs, "City of Blinding Lights" can be interpreted in a religious manner. Author Cameron Conant related the opening verse to the doubt he felt about his convictions on politics, marriage, and faith as he aged, concluding that a person's confidence in their beliefs makes it seem as if they know more than they do.Conant (2005), p. 149 Music critic Bill Friskics-Warren felt that the final line, "Blessings not just for the ones who kneel, luckily", was a way for Bono to berate himself for not praying enough, and was an attack on Christianity because "faith often perpetuates the misery and divisiveness that he decries."Friskics-Warren (2005), pp. 166–167 Steve Stockman, a chaplain at Queen's University of Belfast, believed the song was a metaphor for growing up,Stockman (2005), p. 223 and that the final line meant that not just people of faith could be blessed.Stockman (2005), p. 219
Release
Promotional singles were released in the United Kingdom and United States in April 2005. The UK release featured the "Paradise Soul" mix, Paul Epworth's "Phones P.D.A. in N.Y.C." mix, and the "Killahurtz Fly" mix of "All Because of You" on a 12-inch record, and the U.S. release contained the album version and the radio edit on a CD. "City of Blinding Lights" was released internationally as the fourth single from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb on 6 June 2005, following "Vertigo" in November 2004 and the joint release of "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" and "All Because of You" in February 2005.
Three major versions of the single were released, including two CD singles and one DVD single. Additionally, a mini CD single was released in Europe, and a separate CD single containing all four tracks from CD1 and CD2 was released in Japan. The "Hot Chip 2006" remix of the song was included on the 2010 compilation album Artificial Horizon.
B-sides The Killahurtz Fly mix of "All Because of You" was remixed by the team of Mick Park and Lea Kenny. The song features additional bass and guitars played by Darren Murray. The live versions of "The Fly" and "Even Better Than the Real Thing" were recorded at the Stop Sellafield concert staged by Greenpeace at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester on 19 June 1992. Videos of these performances would later be included as bonus tracks on the DVD release of Zoo TV: Live from Sydney. The rendition of "Out of Control" was taken from a promotional concert, the band played at the Empire – Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, New York City on 22 November 2004; the live video of "City of Blinding Lights" on the DVD release was taken from the same concert. The music video for "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", directed by Phil Joanou, was also included on the DVD.
Music video
The music video for "City of Blinding Lights" was shot at the General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia on 27 April 2005, and was directed by Alex Courtes and Martin Fougerol. The video included additional footage from the band's Vertigo Tour concert of 28 April 2005. Planning for the project began as soon as U2 became aware the arena was available (a result of the NHL lockout of 2004–2005). Manager Paul McGuinness believed selecting Vancouver as the filming location made a lot of sense, saying, "[i]t's a world-renowned production centre. We knew we'd be able to get the crews and camera people and equipment here." Members of the public were invited to be part of the video via radio and internet announcements. Word of the shoot leaked before the official announcement, which led to fans lining up outside for the entire day. Between 3,000 and 5,000 people were allowed in for the filming. During the shoot, U2 performed "City of Blinding Lights" multiple times, followed by "Vertigo", "All Because of You" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own".