Moment of Surrender

"Moment of Surrender" is a song by rock band U2 and the third track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. During the initial recording sessions for the album in 2007 in Fez, Morocco, the band wrote the song with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois within a few hours. Together, they recorded the song in a single take; Eno called the song's recording "the most amazing studio experience [he's] ever had". According to him and Lanois, the track is the closest the band came to realising their original concept for the album of writing "future hymns". The seven-minute song features gospel-like vocals in the chorus, along with a predominantly organ- and piano-based musical accompaniment. Lyrically, the song is about a drug addict who is undergoing a crisis of faith.

"Moment of Surrender" was praised by critics, many of whom called it one of the album's stand-out tracks. The song was compared to the group's earlier ballads "With or Without You" and "One". It was performed at all but two of the band's concerts on the U2 360° Tour, most often as the closing song. During performances, the stage lights were dimmed and fans were urged to hold up their mobile phones to create "a stadium full of tiny stars". Although it was not released as a single, Rolling Stone named "Moment of Surrender" the best song of 2009,^[1] and in 2010, they ranked it 160th on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".^[2]