Mysterious Ways (song)

"Mysterious Ways" began as an improvised demo called "Sick Puppy" that the group recorded at STS Studios in Dublin, as vocalist Bono, guitarist the Edge, and bassist Adam Clayton jammed over a drum machine. The band liked Clayton's bassline, which originated during their recording of a cover version of "Night and Day" and for a while, consisted of little more than a "one-note groove". The song "One", which proved to be breakthrough in the difficult recording sessions for Achtung Baby, began after a moment of inspiration as the band worked on "Mysterious Ways". The Edge caught Lanois' attention while toying around with various chord progressions for the bridge of "Mysterious Ways". Bono said it made an "envelope of sound which would turn a guitar chord into the funkiest of jackhammers". Several different verses were written, but the Edge advocated those with a "nursery rhyme feel", such as "Johnny, take a walk with your sister in the moon / Let her pale light in to fill up the room". He also composed the chorus' reassuring line, "It's all right / It's all right / It's all right", wanting to prove a point since no prior U2 song contained the line. ==Composition==

"Mysterious Ways" is played in a time signature at a tempo of 99 beats per minute. The introduction to the song, which features the song's well-known guitar hook, consists of "one seventh-fret barre chord, a couple of rhythmic scratches and two notes" played in a key of B. The verses follow a chord progression of B–E–B–F. The song's lyrics are addressed to a man living without romance, which was in line with a proposed title for the album, Fear of Women. ==Release==

"Mysterious Ways" was released as the album's second single on 25 November 1991. In the U.S., the song reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the band's highest-charting singles in the U.S.; only three other U2 singles ("With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Desire") have reached higher positions. "Mysterious Ways" also topped both the Modern Rock Tracks and Album Rock Tracks Billboard charts. It peaked at number eight on the Dutch Top 40. "Mysterious Ways," however, is one of few U2 songs to miss the top ten in the UK Singles Chart, where it only reached number 13. When the single covers to "Even Better Than the Real Thing", "The Fly", "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", and "Mysterious Ways" are arranged, a picture of the band members driving a Trabant is formed. ==Music video==

The music video for "Mysterious Ways" has a belly dancing theme, which includes distorted shots of Bono dancing, and other mystical images. It was filmed by French director, photographer, film producer and actor Stéphane Sednaoui in Fez, Morocco. The belly dancer is portrayed by Morleigh Steinberg. ==Reception==

Upon the release of Achtung Baby, "Mysterious Ways" received positive reviews from critics. Rolling Stone called it a standout track among the new dance-influenced songs, praising its "ebullient hook and a guitar solo in which the Edge segues from one of his signature bursts of light into an insidious funk riff". Steve Morse of The Boston Globe called it an "exceptional love song ... with a rapturous chorus" and noted that even though Bono's vocals on the album differ significantly from his previous style, "Mysterious Ways" features him returning to his "yearning self". The New York Times praised the song as the album's best track, commenting that it is "full of rhythmic cross-currents and fuzz-toned murk" and citing it as an example that the band had "taken Bo Diddley and James Brown lessons for its new syncopated dance songs". The Austin Chronicle singled out the song's "conga-laced funk" as one of three moments on the record where U2 have never sounded better. Denise Sullivan of AllMusic praised "Mysterious Ways", saying it is "structured like a gospel chant" and "maintains its deep groove with the assistance of some chunky guitar riffing, a persistent percussive beat, and what sound like spontaneous vocal bursts by Bono in the R&B tradition". In a review of the album's 20th anniversary reissue, Kit O'Toole of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said "Mysterious Ways" exemplified the evolution of the band's sound. In her opinion, despite the song's sonic flourishes, "this departure does not jar longtime fans, as it retains the core of U2—loud, swooping rock guitar, a huge voice, and powerful drums. Quite simply, it's a textbook example of how artists can alter their sound without compromising their essential beliefs." The song flourished and finished tied for 25th place on the "Best Singles" list from The Village Voices 1991 Pazz & Jop critics' poll. ==Live performances==

"Mysterious Ways" made its live debut on 29 February 1992 in Lakeland, Florida on the opening night of the Zoo TV Tour, and it was subsequently played at every show on the tour. Zoo TV performances of the song featured a belly dancer on-stage, who would tempt Bono and the Edge. The 1992 indoor legs featured Florida resident Christina Petro as the dancer. Tour choreographer Morleigh Steinberg assumed the role starting with the Outside Broadcast leg; Steinberg began dating the Edge during the tour, and the two married in 2002. During performances, the Zoo TV video screens displayed revolving images of Marilyn Monroe's head with tape over it. Performances from this tour were extended beyond the length of the original studio version of the song, with a slide guitar solo after the point in the song where the studio version ends, and a longer introduction that included a piano interlude by the Edge. Both the added intro and outro featured additional lyrics by Bono, much of which were sung in falsetto. The group continued playing "Mysterious Ways" on their following concert tour, 1997's PopMart Tour, performing it at each of the tour's 93 shows. which saw the return of the slide solo that had been absent since the Vertigo Tour. U2 performed "Mysterious Ways" during their 2023–2024 U2:UV Achtung Baby residency at the Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley. During these performances, the venue's LED screen displayed moving bars of light that David Barbour of Lighting & Sound International said "creat[ed] a kind of Zoetrope effect". The Edge has always used a Rickenbacker 330/12 to play this song live. On the Zoo TV, PopMart, Elevation and Innocence + Experience Tours he has used a Fireglo coloured model, while on the Vertigo and U2 360° Tours, he has used a Mapleglo coloured one. ==Formats and track listings==

U2 • Bono – lead vocals • The Edge – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals • Adam Clayton – bass guitar • Larry Mullen Jr. – drums, percussion Additional performers • Daniel Lanois – additional percussion Technical • Production – Daniel Lanois with Brian Eno • Engineering – Flood • Additional engineering – Robbie Adams • Assistant engineering – Shannon Strong • Mixing – Flood, Edge, and Daniel Lanois • Mixing assistance – Shannon Strong • "Solar Plexus club mix" and "Solar Plexus club mix" remixed by Howard Gray, Steve Lillywhite and Trevor Gray ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==

Snow Patrol reworked the song for the 2011 tribute album AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered. "As much as it's a thrilling live-set stormer," remarked Gary Lightbody, "we've always seen the quiet storm of gospel in 'Mysterious Ways'." See also: • List of covers of U2 songs - Mysterious Ways ==See also==