Cedarwood Road
by U2

Album: Songs of Innocence (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Not all the streets have no name - the title of this song refers to 10 Cedarwood Road in Dublin, where a young Paul 'Bono' Hewson grew up alongside his friends Guggi Rowan and Gavin Friday. It is located in the Ballymun district on the northern outskirts of the Irish city. (The track is dedicated to Rowan).
  • The song started with guitar riff that Edge wrote at home. He put the track together using Garage Band software with drum loops that Larry Mullen Jr. made for him.
  • Bono wrote the lyrics to match the tone of the track Edge put together. "Sometimes I write lyrics and we try to find the music to express those lyrics," he told the Song Exploder podcast. "But most of the time, it's about finding a feeling at first, and then trying to express that feeling. Edge had this big blues riff - powerful and full of rage. It was a natural fit for me to talk about my own rage."

Comments: 1

  • Ryan from LaMake an official music video for this song
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.