Beautiful Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Beautiful Day”
“Beautiful Day” cover
Single by U2
from the album All That You Can't Leave Behind
Released October 9, 2000
Format CD, cassette, 12"
Recorded HQ, Windmill Lane Studios, Westland Studios and Totally Wired in Dublin, and South of France
Genre Rock
Length 4:08
Label Island
Producer Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno with additional production by Steve Lillywhite
U2 singles chronology
"Sweetest Thing"
(1998)		 "Beautiful Day"
(2000)		 "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get out Of"
(2001)
All That You Can't Leave Behind track listing
N/A "Beautiful Day"
(1)		 "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get out Of"
(2)
The Best of 1990-2000 track listing
"Mysterious Ways"
(2)		 "Beautiful Day"
(3)		 "Electrical Storm" (William Orbit Mix)
(4)
U218 Singles track listing
N/A "Beautiful Day"
(1)		 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
(2)

"Beautiful Day" was the first single from U2's 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind. It was a commercial success, helping launch the album to multi-platinum status, and is one of U2's biggest hits to date. It was their fourth #1 single in the UK and was #1 for a week in Australia. The song peaked at #21 in the US, the band's highest position since "Discothèque" in 1997.

Contents

[edit] Composition

According to Bono, "Beautiful Day" is about "a man who has lost everything, but finds joy in what he still has."[citation needed]

The song is an optimistic anthem that opens with a drum machine and a rhythm sequencer. The verses are relatively quiet before The Edge's guitar and the song's signature riff join in for the choruses. The Edge recorded this song on his Gibson Les Paul Standard and plays the song live with his Gibson Explorer, which helps add the distinctive shimmering, chiming sound that made the band unique when they first debuted in the early 1980s.

In an episode of the Sundance Channel's Iconoclast, R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe said "I love that song. I wish I'd written it, and they know I wish I'd written it. It makes me dance, It makes me angry that I didn't write it." Beautiful Day also opens ITV's football show "The Championship", and previously ITV's "Premiership" referring to soccer making a beautiful day.

[edit] Response

Beautiful Day is the most known track on the All That You Can't Leave Behind album, and has been regarded as one of U2's most famous songs. The song hit No.1 on charts in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland and also boosted sales of All That You Can't Leave Behind. Beautiful Day is included on The Best of 1990-2000 and U218 Singles.

The song won three Grammys in 2001: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

In 2008 the song was chosen to play over the end titles of the children's film Nim's Island, starring Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler.

[edit] Live history

Ever since its tour debut at the first date of the Elevation Tour on March 24, 2001 in Miami, "Beautiful Day" has been played at every single full tour concert, as well as a number of promotional appearances and concerts not connected with a tour. On the Elevation Tour, "Beautiful Day" was normally the second song played, though it did open one show and was played late in the setlist at two concerts. During the Vertigo Tour, it has appeared in the first half of the main set. It is featured on the live films Elevation 2001: Live from Boston, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, and Vertigo 2005: Live From Chicago. The song was also performed on stage to open the Live 8 concerts, with slightly different lyrics that mentioned the different sites that Live 8 concerts took place in, along with "Vertigo" and "One", at Hyde Park in London. It was performed live in New Orleans for Super Bowl XXXVI and for the New Orleans Saints first game in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

[edit] Music video

The song's video showed the band walking around in Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport, with scenes of the band playing on a runway interspliced with large jets taking off and landing overhead.

An alternative video for the song, shot in Èze, France, was featured on the The Best of 1990-2000 bonus disc and the U218 Videos DVD. A month before the album release, a live version of the song was filmed in Dublin on the rooftop of The Clarence hotel. It is featured on the extra features of the Elevation 2001: Live from Boston DVD.

[edit] Track listings

[edit] Version 1

  1. "Beautiful Day" (Album Version) (4:06)
  2. "Summer Rain" (4:06)
  3. "Always" (3:46)

This is the common CD release. A cassette single was released with only "Summer Rain" as the B-side. The Australian CD edition also had an enhanced video of "Last Night on Earth" (Live from Mexico City).

[edit] Version 2

  1. "Beautiful Day" (Album Version) (4:06)
  2. "Discothèque" (Live from Mexico City December 3, 1997) (5:10)
  3. "If You Wear that Velvet Dress" (Live from Mexico City December 3, 1997) (2:43)

This is the "live" release. The Australian edition also had "Last Night on Earth" (Live from Mexico City) as an extra audio track.

[edit] Version 3

  1. "Beautiful Day" (Album Version) (4:06)
  2. "Summer Rain" (4:06)
  3. "Always" (3:46)
  4. "Discothèque" (Live from Mexico City December 3, 1997) (5:10)
  5. "If You Wear that Velvet Dress" (Live from Mexico City December 3, 1997) (2:43)

This CD version, with almost all available B-sides, was only released in Japan.

[edit] Live Version

  1. "Beautiful Day" (Live from Slane Castle) (4:34)

This version is a digital only release on iTunes, and it was taken off of the DVD release "U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle".

[edit] Chart positions

Chart (2000) Peak
position
Irish Singles Chart 1
Italian Singles Chart 1
Latvian Airplay Top 1
Norwegian Singles Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 21
U.S. Modern Rock Tracks 5
U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks 14
U.S. Top 40 Mainstream 19
U.S. Top 40 Tracks 15
U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play 1
Canadian Singles Chart 1
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 1
Dutch Top 40 1
United World Chart 2
Preceded by
"On a Night like This" by Kylie Minogue		 Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single
October 22, 2000		 Succeeded by
"Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Spiller
Preceded by
"Black Coffee" by All Saints		 UK number one single
October 15, 2000 - October 22, 2000		 Succeeded by
"Stomp" by Steps

[edit] Covers

[edit] External links