Song · U2
“God Part II” by U2
Released 1988
“God Part II” by U2 appears on 12 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1988 and 2005. It was first released in 1988. Its best result is #17 on the WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #50 alternative song of 1988, #1,552 alternative song of all time and #205 of the '80s.
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"God Part II" is the 14th track on U2's 1988 album Rattle and Hum, and it's the moment the record stops tipping its hat to American roots music and starts glowering. Bono's lyric answers John Lennon's "God", borrowing that song's structure, and uses it to take a swipe at the biographer Albert Goldman by way of Lennon's "Instant Karma!", with a nod to Bruce Cockburn's "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" along the way.
Jimmy Iovine produced it, and David Tickle recorded and mixed it, and the sound is harder and darker than the folksy studio tracks around it: grinding, clanking, a preview of the turn that came with Achtung Baby. A "Hard Metal Dance Mix" turned up on the "When Love Comes to Town" single, and the band only played it live on the Lovetown Tour of late 1989 and early 1990.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 35 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988 | 91 |
| 1988 | 17 | WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY | WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988 | 100 |
| 1989 | 53 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1989 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 525 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 1999 | 600 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 600 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 600 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 600 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 600 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2003 | 686 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2004 | 600 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 601 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
Also listed as: God Part Ii.
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