Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

---

"Bad" is from 'Wide Awake in America' - a four-track extended play by Irish rock band U2. It was released on 20 May 1985 through Island Records. It combines two live performances of songs from the group's 1984 album 'The Unforgettable Fire' with two B-sides from the era, which had previously been available only in the United Kingdom.
"Bad" was produced by the band and recorded live from the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England on 12 November 1984, as part of the Unforgettable Fire Tour. Guitarist the Edge misplayed the final note of this song, but U2 decided to use this version anyway, and the error was fixed during mixing

Lyrics:

If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, yes I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate

If I could throw this lifeless lifeline to the wind
Leave this heart of clay
See you walk, walk away
Into the night
And through the rain
Into the half-light
And through the flame

If I could through myself
Set your spirit free, I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
To let it go
And so to fade away
To let it go
And so, fade away

Wide awake
I'm wide awake
Wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no

If you should ask then maybe they'd
Tell you what I would say
True colors fly in blue and black
Bruised silken sky and burning flag
Colors crash, collide in bloodshot eyes

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
If I could, you know I would, if I could, I would
Let it go

This desperation
Dislocation
Separation, condemnation
Revelation in temptation
Isolation, desolation
Let it go

And so fade away
To let it go
And so fade away
To let it go
Oh now, and so to fade away

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
Wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no

Songwriters: Adam Clayton / Dave Evans / Larry Mullen / Paul Hewson
Bad lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group