“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is a song by Irish band U2 It is the second track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album’s second single in May 1987. The song was a hit, becoming the band’s second consecutive number-one single on the US Billboard while peaking at number six in the UK.
The song originated from a demo the band recorded on which drummer Larry Mullen Jr. played a unique rhythm pattern. Like much of The Joshua Tree, the song was inspired by the group’s interest in American music. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” exhibits influences from gospel music and its lyrics describe spiritual yearning. Lead singer Bono’s vocals are in high register and lead guitarist the Edge plays a chiming arpeggio. Adding to the gospel qualities of the song are choir-like backing vocals provided by the Edge and producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.
The group worked on the track at the studio they had set up at Danesmoate House in Dublin. Lanois compared the creation of the song to constructing a building, first laying down the drums as the foundation, then adding additional layers piece by piece, before finally “putting in furniture”. Bono was interested in the theme of spiritual doubt, which was fostered by Eno’s love for gospel music, and by Bono’s listening to songs by The Swan Silvertones, Staple Singers, and Blind Willie Johnson. After the Edge wrote a chord sequence and played it on acoustic guitar “with a lot of power in the strumming”, the group attempted to compose a suitable vocal melody, trying out a variety of ideas. During a jam session, Bono began singing a “classic soul” melody, and it was this addition that made the Edge hear the song’s potential. At that point, he remembered a phrase he had written in a notebook that morning as a possible song title, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”.
As recording continued, a number of guitar overdubs were added, including an auto-pan effect and a chiming arpeggio to modernise the old-style “gospel song”. While the Edge was improvising guitar parts one day, Bono heard a “chrome bells” guitar hook that he liked. It was added as a counter- melody to the song’s “muddy shoes” guitar part, and it is this hook that the Edge plays during live performances of the song. Background vocals were provided by the Edge, Lanois, and co-producer Eno, their voices being multi-tracked. Lanois suggests that his and Eno’s involvement in the track’s creation helped their vocals. He stated, “You’re not going to get that sound of, ‘Oh they brought in some soul singers’ if you know what I mean. Our hearts and souls are already there. If we sing it’ll sound more real.
“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” was critically acclaimed and received two nominations at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988, for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It has subsequently become one of the group’s most well-known songs and has been performed on many of their concert tours. The track has appeared on several of their compilations. Many critics and publications have ranked “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” among the greatest tracks in music history including Rolling Stone which ranked the song at number 93 of its list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of all Time”.
The song was covered by Scottish band the Chimes in 1990 and was featured on their self titled debut album. The rendition peaked at number six in both the Uk and New Zealand charts. It also peaked into number twelve in Dutch chart. Singer Cher used to open her shows with a cover of the song during her 1990s and 2000s concerts. The cast of TV series Glee, covered the song in the eleventh episode of the fifth season, “City of Angels”, as a tribute for Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) in their national competition.
