Until The End of The World (song) - Writing, Recording, and Production

Writing, Recording, and Production

"Until the End of the World" originated from a guitar riff that vocalist Bono composed in a demo called "Fat Boy" that the band recorded at STS Studios in 1990, prior to the proper Achtung Baby sessions. Although guitarist The Edge loved the riff, the band was not having much success with the demo during the Achtung Baby sessions. After the band met with German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who was looking for music to use in his film Until the End of the World, The Edge was inspired to revisit the "Fat Boy" demo. In Dublin, The Edge used the riff to assemble a backing track with bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., while vocalist Bono contributed other ideas. The composition excited the band so much, they decided to include it on the album. They told Wenders, "You can have it but we want it, too", while also informing him that they were using the film title for the song.

Bono wrote the lyrics relatively quickly at his father-in-law's house in Wexford, having woken up with the idea of a conversation between Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. Bono did not feel comfortable trying to find a particular key to sing in, as he remarked that he sings most songs "a little bit too high or a little bit too low". Consequently, the only melody he felt comfortable singing was conversational. Reading poetry by John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and George Gordon Byron inspired Bono to introduce the theme of temptation into his lyrics.

U2 and the production team had to expend a great effort to finalise the song. The band added various overdubs during the recording sessions, including percussion loops by Mullen, as well as a sweeping guitar sound created by engineer Flood that sounded like it went "between the speakers". Producer Daniel Lanois provided additional percussion for the song, playing congas heard during the song's introduction. At one point, assisting producer Brian Eno believed the additions had negatively impacted the track. Eno, who would occasionally visit the studio and review material for a short amount of time before leaving, believed his distance from the album allowed him to provide a fresh perspective. He explained his assistance: "I'd go in and say, 'The song has gone, whatever it is you liked about this song is not there anymore. Sometimes, for example, the song would have disappeared under layers of overdubs." Eno aided the group in removing some of these overdubs.