“The Wanderer” is the final track on Zooropa, and describes a man searching for God in a post-apocalyptic world. Bono insisted on getting Johnny Cash to sing vocals, as he said that’s how he had imagined it when writing the song.
[Verse 1]
I went out walkin' through streets paved with gold
Lifted some stones, saw the skin and bones
Of a city without a soul
[Verse 2]
I went out walkin' under an atomic sky
Where the ground won't turn and the rain it burns
Like the tears when I said goodbye
[Chorus]
Yeah, I went with nothin'
Nothin' but the thought of you
I went wandering
[Verse 3]
I went drifting through the capitals of tin
Where men can't walk or freely talk
And sons turn their fathers in
[Verse 4]
I stopped outside a church house where the citizens like to sit
They say they want the kingdom
But they don't want God in it
[Verse 5]
I went out ridin' down that old eight-lane
I passed by a thousand signs
Looking for my own name
[Chorus]
I went with nothin'
But the thought you'd be there too
Lookin' for you
[Bridge]
I went out there in search of experience
To taste and to touch and to feel as much
As a man can before he repents
[Verse 6]
I went out searching, looking for one good man
A spirit who would not bend or break
Who would sit at his father's right hand
[Verse 7]
I went out walking with a bible and a gun
The word of God lay heavy on my heart
I was sure I was the one
[Verse 8]
Now Jesus, don't you wait up, Jesus I'll be home soon
Yeah, I went out for the papers
Told her I'd be back by noon
[Chorus]
Yeah, I left with nothin'
But the thought you'd be there too
Lookin' for you
Yeah, I left with nothin'
Nothin' but the thought of you
I went wandering
The Wanderer was written by Bono & The Edge (Guitarist) & Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen Jr..
The Wanderer was produced by Flood & Brian Eno & The Edge (Guitarist).
U2 released The Wanderer on Mon Jul 05 1993.