In a Little While

[1] The vocals of lead singer Bono were quickly developed in a couple of improvised takes after he arrived at the studio hungover and with very little voice after a "very big night out on the town" and only two hours of sleep.

Stannard stripped the song down from its layers, found a section of the rhythm track that he liked,[1] and added it as a loop over drummer Larry Mullen Jr.'s drums.

Bono said that his idea for the song was "the temporal nature of being", but that setting it during a hangover added "comedy and earthiness that balances the philosophical pretensions".

The section was informed by Bono reminiscing at the turn of the millennium about the awe he felt over technological marvels such as man landing on the Moon as well as his frustration with the lack of progress in solving world problems like poverty and disease.

[5] The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers performed the song as a duet with Bono in Las Vegas in 2006 on the Vertigo Tour.