SONGWRITERS SERIES

While the epic nature of U2's musical landscape is what first catches the ear, it's also the compelling themes that make the songs stick with us.

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While the epic nature of U2's musical landscape is what first catches the ear, it's also the compelling themes that make the songs stick with us.

(Audio samples feature commentary by Robert Hilburn)

1. "Where the Streets Have No Name" / "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"1987. It's a bit of a cheat to list two songs, but the tunes from "The Joshua Tree" have always seemed to be closely connected expressions of spiritual search.

2. "One" 1991. Rock is often best when it is rowdy and irreverent, but the heart of U2's music is its gracefulness. Even in moments as melancholy as this, there is an overriding touch of eloquence. Key lines: "You ask me to enter/ But then you make me crawl/ And I can't be holding on/ To what you got/ When all you got is hurt."

3. "Bad" 1984. Its themes may be dark, but U2 refuses to surrender to pessimism or despair. That's why this sober tale about heroin addiction also serves as a warm rallying cry.

4. "Running to Stand Still" 1987. Not only do the words capture the way drugs can disorient people so that they feel they are running while remaining motionless, but the stark, funereal tone of the music is a perfect match.

5. "Peace on Earth" 2000. This may be the darkest Christmas song ever written. After a terrorist bombing in Northern Ireland, Bono expressed the heartache and rage of a parent who can't be comforted by more promises of hope. "Sick of sorrow/ Sick of pain/ Sick of hearing again and again/ That there's going to be/ Peace on Earth."