Until the End of the World

"Until the End of the World" is a song by rock band U2 and the fourth track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby. The song began as a guitar riff composed by lead vocalist Bono from a demo, which the band revisited with success after talking with German filmmaker Wim Wenders about providing music for his film Until the End of the World. The song's lyrics describe a fictional conversation between Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. The first verse discusses the Last Supper; the second is about Judas identifying Jesus with a kiss on the cheek in the Garden of Gethsemane; and the final is about Judas' suicide after being overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. "Until the End of the World" enjoyed airplay on alternative and rock radio in the United States, where it was released as a promotional single; it peaked within the top 5 of Billboards Modern Rock Tracks and Album Rock Tracks charts. It also peaked at number 69 on the Canadian RPM Top 100 singles chart. Writing, recording, and production "Until the End of the World" originated from a guitar riff by vocalist Bono from a demo called "Fat Boy" that the band recorded at STS Studios in 1990, prior to the Achtung Baby sessions proper. Although guitarist the Edge loved the riff, the band struggled to finalise a song from the demo during the album's recording 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, he used the riff to assemble a backing track with bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. 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.