This Painfully Layered Love Song Held The No. 1 Spot The Longest In 1987

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In 1987, U2 wrote its name into music legend with the release of the album "The Joshua Tree." Not only did it net Grammy Awards for the Irish rock band, but it also went on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time. In addition, it produced the complex love song and notable U2 classic, "With or Without You," which spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

As far as ballads go, this track confuses those who listen to and read the lyrics, because who exactly is U2's "With or Without You" about? It sounds like singer Bono feels tortured while waiting for someone, but he decides to stick around with or without the person. In "U2 by U2," Bono revealed that the song is actually about an internal struggle, rather than a specific person. "The lyric is pure torment," he said. "One of the things that was happening at that time was the collision in my own mind between being faithful to your art or being faithful to your lover. What if the two are at odds? Your gift versus domestic responsibility?"

"With or Without You" is about the complexity that most artists feel when pursuing their dreams. There's guilt as they're on the road and away from their loved ones. They feel torn and conflicted over where their loyalty lies. Are they being selfish by not giving more of themselves to others, or are they chasing destiny?

In 1986, Bono wrote the lyrics for "With or Without You" in Côte d'Azur. However, one of the untold truths about U2 is that the song was nearly scrapped due to some apprehension. There seemed to be an acknowledgement that something special was there, but U2 didn't know how to crack it open for the longest time.

In the book "U2 by U2," Bono credited Irish singer-songwriter Gavin Friday for uncovering the magic of the song. "He personally rescued 'With or Without You,'" Bono said. "He pulled it out of the wastepaper bin, organized it, structured it and was the one who believed it could be a big hit when [producers] Brian [Eno] and Danny [Lanois] had passed on it. It's my chord sequence but what makes it special is Brian Eno's sequencer; he did for 'With or Without You' what he'd done for 'Bad,' which was to create a keyboard arpeggio."

Author Aaron J. Sams, who wrote "U2: Song by Song," appeared on the "Booked on Rock" podcast and relayed a similar story. However, Sams added that The Edge's experimentation with his prototype Infinite guitar — a modified Fender — also played a critical role in the song's salvation, as while Bono was working on the song, The Edge was playing around with the instrument's unique sound. And the rest is music history.