SONG FACTS
“I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” - U2
Album: The Joshua Tree
Released 1987 
The lyrics could refer to a search for spiritual enlightenment or a search for love. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bono said the song was “an anthem of doubt more than faith.”
The Edge came up with the title and melody, and Bono wrote lyrics around it.
This was influenced by gospel music. Bono wanted The Joshua Tree to explore various forms of American music they had encountered while touring there. The album's co-producer Daniel Lanois said he nudged Bono in the gospel direction on tracks like this one. He explained in the TV documentary Classic Albums: U2 The Joshua Tree:
“I've always liked gospel music and I encouraged Bono to take it to that place. It was a very non-U2 thing to do at the time, to go up the street of gospel. I think it opened a door for them, to experiment with that territory... He's singing at the top of his range and there is something very compelling about somebody pushing themselves. It's like hearing Aretha Franklin almost. It jumps on you and you can't help but feel the feeling.”
Bono has written a variety of “spiritual” songs. This one makes distinct references to Jesus:
“I believe in the kingdom... you broke the bonds and you loosed the chains” he is acknowledging salvation and yet he still hasn't found what he is looking for. This need for deeper fulfillment and futile search corresponds to a setback in the cycle of faith. The setback of Inferiority is followed by Confusion. Rather than getting back onto the path towards a better faith, another setback occurs. The frustration of the first setback grows, causing confusion and a distorted perspective.
The Edge (Q Magazine, December 1998)
“We were listening to some gospel during The Joshua Tree sessions - I remember The Mighty Clouds and the Reverend Cleveland and The Staple Singers.
The original was more loose, almost Jamaican. Bono hit on the melody and I had the title in a notebook. At first, no one took it that seriously because it sounded so unlike anything we'd ever done and it didn't gel until the mix, but when it was finished we all realized that we had something special. The reviewers didn't like it though. One American said it was a pale imitation of the original form and that Foreigner song
‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ ) was better.”
Bono sometimes introduced this as “A kind of gospel song with a restless spirit.”
The gospel choir The New Voices Of Freedom covered this. When U2 heard their version, they arranged to rehearse it with them in their Harlem church, which led to the performance in Madison Square Garden included on Rattle And Hum. This version was released as a single.
The video, directed by Barry_Devlin
(“Pride, In The Name Of Love” )
features U2 walking around Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas and interacting with passersby.
Bono even smooches a couple fans (this was before social distancing) and climbs on the hood of a car to speak to its driver. According to Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events, the clip boosted Sin City's credibility in the music scene. “The whole perception of Vegas changed with that video”, Christenson told Las Vegas Review Journal. “Now all the big names come here, some of them five, six times a year.” >
“I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1988. Their bass player, Adam Clayton, missed the presentation because he was in the bathroom.
Several other musicians filmed videos on Fremont Street, including:
The Flaming Lips
(“Do You Realize??” ),
Ice Cube
(“Chrome And Paint” ),
The Weeknd
(“Heartless, Blinding Lights” ), and
In 1991, a group called Negativland released a single called “U2”, which was a parody of this. They were sued by Island Records and forced to pull the record.
The working title was “Under The Weather”.
A cover version by The Chimes hit #6 in England.
On an episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, U2 took part in Conan's comedy bit “Celebrity Secrets” where they joked that one time the band was in a grocery store and could not find the cereal Boo Berry and that was the inspiration for this song.
This was used in the movies “Runaway Bride ”(1999) and “Ricki And The Flash” (2015). It was also used on “Glee” in the 2014 episode “City Of Angels”.
The nu metal band Disturbed covered this on their 2010 album, Asylum.
A joint version by Scarlett Johansson and Bono soundtracked a trailer for the animated film
“Sing 2” . Bono plays a rock star lion named Clay Calloway in the movie.
