Song · U2
“Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own” by U2
From the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
“Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own” by U2 appears on 24 radio countdowns from 18 stations between 2005 and 2024. It was first released in 2004 on the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Its best result is #17 on the 99.1 PLR U2 20. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #57 alternative song of 2005 and #3,519 alternative song of all time.
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"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" sits third on How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2's eleventh album, and it went out as the record's second single everywhere but North America on 7 February 2005. It started life under the title "Tough", and it's Bono's song for his father, Bob Hewson, whom cancer took in 2001: a slow-building ballad heavy with grief, and Bono's voice climbs until it has nowhere left to go. Chris Thomas produced, with Steve Lillywhite and Nellee Hooper adding production and Hooper mixing, and the Edge chips in keyboards and extra vocals.
It entered the UK chart at number one, their sixth British chart-topper, and went to the top in Canada, Scotland and Spain too. It took home two Grammys in 2006, Song of the Year and the top rock performance prize for a group.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 29 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2005 | 91 |
| 2005 | 64 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2005 | 100 |
| 2005 | 94 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 2005 | 107 |
| 2005 | 58 | 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON | 89X Top 89 Songs of 2005 | 89 |
| 2005 | 89 | Y100 Philadelphia, PA | Y100 Top 150 Songs of 2005 | 150 |
| 2005 | 27 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON | CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2005 | 102 |
| 2005 | 56 | The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC | The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2005 | 99 |
| 2005 | 83 | Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA | Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2005 | 105 |
| 2005 | 63 (tie) | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2005 | 230 |
| 2005 | 53 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2005 | 103 |
| 2005 | 126 | ModernRock.com Online | ModernRock.com Top 400 Songs of 2005 | 400 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 302 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 500 |
| 2007 | 1383 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1632 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 593 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade | 913 |
| 2009 | 1655 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1693 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1761 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1822 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2013 | 364 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) | 885 |
| 2014 | 1890 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2015 | 17 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR U2 20 | 20 |
| 2022 | 545 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2024 | 172 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
Also listed as: Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own; Sometimes You Cant Make it On Your Own.
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