Song · U2
“Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” by U2
From the album Achtung Baby (1991)
“Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” by U2 appears on 12 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1999 and 2023. It was first released in 1991 on the album Achtung Baby. Its best result is #18 on the 99.1 PLR U2 20. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,367 alternative song of all time.
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"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" sits tenth on U2's seventh album, Achtung Baby, released in 1991, and it's one of the record's great late-night pleas. On the surface Bono's words are about love and leaning on someone, but listeners have heard echoes of the Book of Job in them, and writers have found something spiritual in all that talk of light. Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois produced it, with Flood engineering and mixing, and like the rest of the album it mixes deadly serious moments with throwaway ones.
It was never a single, yet it found its way into two films, lent its name to a U2 business venture and became an encore showpiece on the Zoo TV Tour, the U2 360° Tour and the Joshua Tree Tour 2017.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1517 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1517 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1521 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1519 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 1523 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 1523 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1522 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2015 | 18 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR U2 20 | 20 |
| 2016 | 899 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2019 | 676 | WYEP | WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 | 1017 |
| 2019 | 676 | WYEP | WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 | 1099 |
| 2023 | 376 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
Also listed as: Ultra Violet (light My Way); Ultraviolet (Light My Way).
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