Exit (U2 song)

The lyrics, which portray the mind of a serial killer, were inspired by lead singer Bono's reading of Norman Mailer's 1980 novel The Executioner's Song, and other related works.

In his trial for the murder of Rebecca Schaeffer in 1989, Robert John Bardo used "Exit" as part of his defence, claiming that the song had influenced his actions.

"[3] One day, during the album sessions, the Edge was looking to record a guitar part, but due to a miscommunication with the road crew, most of his equipment was removed from his house and put into storage.

[1][7] Further reading of Flannery O'Connor and Raymond Carver inspired him to try to understand "the ordinary stock first and then the outsiders, the driftwood – those on the fringes of the promised land, cut off from the American dream.

[1] Hot Press editor Niall Stokes stated the song "trawls the area occupied by either or both [Gilmore and Manson], getting inside the head of a protagonist who's careening into psychosis.

"[12] Bassist Adam Clayton said that the line "He saw the hands that build could also pull down" was a jab at the US government's conflicting roles in international relations.

[13] Two songs from The Joshua Tree, "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Mothers of the Disappeared", focused on the foreign policy of the United States.

[15] David Werther, a faculty associate in Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, compared "Exit" with U2's 1991 song "Until the End of the World" in an examination of the role music can play in catharsis.

[18] Tony Perry of The Patriot-News felt it was one of the low points of the album, stating "'Exit' ... crescendoes into little more than noise",[19] a sentiment echoed by Lennox Samuels of The Dallas Morning News who called it "a dull piece".

[20] Writing for the Orange County Registrar, Jim Washburn and Noel Davis called it "a journey through a killer's mind, made harrowing not so much by Hewson's creepy-religio lyrics as by the band's [⁠...⁠] overdriven backing, which practically boils right out of the pot.

[24] Stokes described it as "the antithesis of [U2's] bright, ringing, optimistic, inspirational selves, it was dirty, loud, discordant, repetitive, noisy, black.

Far more than even 'Bullet the Blue Sky', [the Edge's] playing is scratching at the prison bars of polished good taste", describing it as the wild card of the album.

[15] Author John Luerssen contrasted it to the rest of the band's catalogue, saying "Unlike most of the songs U2 had written up to this point, 'Exit' lacked any optimism.

"[7] Hot Press contributor Colm O'Hare felt that the claims by Bardo evoked memories of Charles Manson's use of "Helter Skelter", and contained "even more sinister shades" of the death of John Lennon.

[25] In Rolling Stone, Steve Pond argued it was "awkward enough to remind you that not even Patti Smith could regularly pull off this sort of thing.

[31] In 2007, U2's manager Paul McGuinness said that the song had been "slightly tainted" after the trial of Robert John Bardo, speculating that it had fallen out of favour with the band following the incident.

"[15] David Zimmerman of USA Today believed the live performance of "Exit" helped to showcase Mullen's drumming skills, which he described as "more assertive than ever".

[37] Don McLeese of the Chicago Sun-Times described the live rendition as "harder, more aggressive and more explosive than much of the band's earlier music.

"[38] Jon Bream of the Star Tribune said "it galvanized the crowd in much the same way that U2 had in its legendary performances at Live Aid in 1985", believing that it helped to focus the band's energy.

[39] A live performance of "Exit", recorded on 8 November 1987 in Denver, Colorado,[40][41] appears as the fourth song in the 1988 film Rattle and Hum.

[46] The clip was followed by an image of hands tattooed "LOVE" and "HATE", inspired by the fanatic preacher/killer character in the film The Night of the Hunter.

[47] Robert John Bardo, an American from Tucson, Arizona, became obsessed with actress Rebecca Schaeffer in 1986 after sending her a letter that same year.

"[36] The Edge said that the song's defence in the trial was "very heavy", stating "Should any artist hold back from putting out something because he's afraid of what somebody else might do as a result of his work?