Release and Critical Response
"In God's Country" was released as a single in Canada and the United States in November 1987. The cover art (photographed by Anton Corbijn), sleeve (designed by Steve Averill), and B-sides ("Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Running to Stand Still") were identical to those used for U2's 1988 single "One Tree Hill", released only in New Zealand and Australia. The Canadian release was available on 7", 12" and cassette, while the US release was limited to 7" only.
"In God's Country" reached number 44 on the Billboard singles chart and number 48 as an import in the UK. The single's video appears on Outside it's America, a documentary tracking the band's first few weeks on tour through the American southwest in 1987. Sales of the single may have been hampered by the fact that its b-sides were two tracks from The Joshua Tree album instead of the usual non-album tracks. The music video was not released to MTV or other outlets.
An abridged live version of the song recorded on the 1987 Joshua Tree Tour appeared on the band's 1988 rockumentary, "Rattle and Hum", but did not appear on the accompanying album of the same name.
Hot Press editor and long-time U2 supporter, Bill Graham, described the song as "...U2 cruising, a starter and not a main course..." and referring to the lyric's cliches he said that the song is "...saved by the fact that does Bono better than anybody else."
Read more about this topic: In God's Country
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