The Unforgettable Fire (track) by U2
Year: 1984
From the album The Unforgettable Fire (track #4)


The Unforgettable Fire appears on the following album(s) by U2:
- The Unforgettable Fire (track #4) (this album) (1984)
- The Best Of 1980-1990 (track #9) (compilation) (1998)
- U22: A 22 Track Live Collection From U2360 (track #13) (2012)
- The Best Of 1980-1990 & B-Sides (track #9) (compilation) (1998)
Upcoming concerts




Listen to The Unforgettable Fire on YouTube
The Unforgettable Fire ratings

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Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
75/100 ![]() | 04/10/2025 08:17 | MrOlan | ![]() | 79/100 |
100/100 ![]() | 02/21/2025 22:09 | kinginsomniac12 | ![]() | 100/100 |
80/100 ![]() | 02/15/2025 16:07 | daCritic | ![]() | 76/100 |
90/100 ![]() | 11/22/2024 05:40 | ![]() | ![]() | 88/100 |
100/100 ![]() | 10/03/2024 04:26 | LordMark | ![]() | 97/100 |
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This track is rated in the top 2% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 85.9/100, a mean average of 85.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 86.3/100. The standard deviation for this track is 14.1.
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Love the chorus. And it's another great Bono vocal performance

my favorite u2 song. once again, adam and the edge are the highlights, but this song is a better illustration of how well the band works together. while i find myself following what the edge is doing for most of the song, i know what everyone's up to, and they're all absolutely on point. find me a better example of how well this group works together. lyrically, this is one of my favorites from bono. it's so impressionistic. the song was inspired by photographs taken of the atomic plumes following the drops on hiroshima and nagasaki - a death by an unforgettable fire. it's interesting then that the first lines are "ice, your only rivers run cold", a recognition that no matter how hot the death was, its wake is always cold. the inspiration though - those smokey plumes are evidenced by what the edge is doing as well. fully immersed in the concept. and the synths stabbing like the bombs hitting the ground ... it's all so well done.

This song deserves SO MUCH MORE LOVE, both as an overall great song but also as one of U2's best.
A touch of synth, a lot of electricity. Big and beautiful.
A grand, MEZMERIZING song....
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