"With or Without You" is a song by rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, and was released as the album's first single on 21 March 1987. The song was the group's most successful single at the time, becoming their first number-one hit in the United States by topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.
"With or Without You" features sustained guitar parts played by guitarist The Edge with a prototype of the Infinite Guitar, along with impassioned vocals by lead singer Bono and a driving bassline by bassist Adam Clayton. The song originated from a demo recorded in late 1985 that the group continued to work on throughout The Joshua Tree sessions. Ostensibly a troubled love song, the track's lyrics were inspired by Bono's conflicting feelings about the lives he led as a musician and domestic man.
See the stone set in your eyes See the thorn twist in your side I wait for you
Sleight of hand and twist of fate On a bed of nails she makes me wait And I wait without you
With or without you With or without you
Through the storm we reach the shore You give it all but I want more And I'm waiting for you
With or without you With or without you I can't live With or without you
And you give yourself away And you give yourself away And you give And you give And you give yourself away
My hands are tied My body bruised, she's got me with Nothing to win and Nothing left to lose
And you give yourself away And you give yourself away And you give And you give And you give yourself away
With or without you With or without you I can't live With or without you
With or without you With or without you I can't live With or without you With or without you
Free · every Monday
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.