One Tree Hill (song)
"One Tree Hill" is a song by rock band U2 and the ninth track on their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. In March 1988, it was released as the fourth single from the album in New Zealand and Australia, while "In God's Country" was released as the fourth single in North America. The release charted at number one on the New Zealand singles chart.
The track was written in memory of Greg Carroll, a Māori the band met during The Unforgettable Fire Tour in 1984. He became very close friends with lead singer Bono and served as a roadie for the group. Carroll was killed in July 1986 in a motorcycle accident in Dublin. Following the funeral in New Zealand, Bono wrote the lyrics to "One Tree Hill", which he dedicated to Carroll. The lyrics reflect Bono's thoughts at the funeral and pay homage to Chilean activist Victor Jara. Musically, the song was developed in a jam session with producer Brian Eno. The vocals were recorded in a single take, as Bono felt incapable of singing them a second time.
"One Tree Hill" was received favourably by critics, who variously described it as "a soft, haunting benediction", "a remarkable musical centrepiece", and a celebration of life. U2 delayed performing the song on the Joshua Tree Tour in 1987 due to Bono's fears over his emotional state. After its live debut on the tour's third leg and an enthusiastic reaction from audiences, the song was played occasionally for the rest of the tour and semi-regularly during the Lovetown Tour of 1989–1990. It has appeared only sporadically since then, and most renditions were performed in New Zealand. Performances in November 2010 on the U2 360° Tour were dedicated to the miners who died in the Pike River Mine disaster.
Read more about One Tree Hill (song): Inspiration, Writing, and Recording, Composition and Theme, Release and Critical Response, Live Performances, Track Listing, Charting, Personnel
Famous quotes containing the words tree and/or hill:
““The tree of knowledge is not the tree of life!” And yet can we cast out of our spirits all the good or evil poured into them by so many learned generations? Ignorance cannot be learned.”
—Gérard De Nerval (1808–1855)
“The most interesting thing which I heard of, in this township of Hull, was an unfailing spring, whose locality was pointed out to me on the side of a distant hill, as I was panting along the shore, though I did not visit it. Perhaps, if I should go through Rome, it would be some spring on the Capitoline Hill I should remember the longest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)