During the album's recording sessions at Hansa Studios in Berlin, conflict arose between the band members over the direction of U2's sound and the quality of their material.

The lyrics, written by lead singer Bono, were inspired by the band members' fractured relationships and the German reunification.

[1] In October 1990, U2 arrived in Berlin on the eve of German reunification to begin the recording sessions for Achtung Baby at Hansa Studios.

[2] Expecting to be inspired by a "New Europe" and the reuniting city, the band instead found the mood to be bleak and soon conflict arose over their musical direction and the quality of their material.

While bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. preferred a sound similar to U2's previous work, vocalist Bono and guitarist the Edge were inspired by European industrial and electronic dance music of the time and were advocating a change.

We were all playing together in the big recording room, a huge, eerie ballroom full of ghosts of the war, and everything fell into place.

While jamming on a song called "Sick Puppy"—an early version of "Mysterious Ways"—the band tried different chord progressions for the bridge.

[6] He also stated that the lyrics "just fell out of the sky, a gift"; the concept was inspired by the band members' fracturing relationships,[7] the German reunification,[8] and Bono's scepticism of the hippie idea of "oneness".

Bono later sent a note to the Dalai Lama declining an invitation to a festival called Oneness, incorporating a line from the song: "One—but not the same".

Following the song's initial improvisation, tapes of the recording sessions were delivered to assisting producer Brian Eno to gather his input;[6] Eno spent extended periods of time away from the sessions before visiting to review songs, and he believed that distancing himself from the work allowed him to provide the band with a fresh perspective on their material each time he rejoined them.

Lanois subsequently took Bono's green Gretsch guitar and played a hammer-on part that was included in the final version of the song.

"[6] The final mix was completed at Windmill Lane Studios in September 1991 on the last night of the album's recording sessions,[6][11] when some last minute additions were made.

[14] The Edge described it on one level as a "bitter, twisted, vitriolic conversation between two people who've been through some nasty, heavy stuff".

"[19] To promote safe sex, U2 sold condoms bearing the album title Achtung Baby at their Zoo TV Tour concerts.

[20] The single's liner notes explain that Wojnarowicz "identifies himself and ourselves with the buffalo, pushed into the unknown by forces we cannot control or even understand".

The first, directed by Anton Corbijn, was filmed in Berlin and features the band members performing at Hansa Studios interspersed with footage of Trabants (an East German automobile they became fond of as a symbol for a changing Europe) and shots of them dressed in drag.

It was directed by Rattle and Hum director Phil Joanou and was primarily filmed in early March 1992 at Nell's, a Manhattan nightclub.

[26][27] The video depicts Bono sitting at a table smoking a cheroot and drinking beer, interspersed with footage of the band performing in concert.

"[31] Niall Stokes of Hot Press gave an enthusiastic review of the song, calling it one of the album's tracks "whose potency defies equivocations".

He said the melody was reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and the vocals evoked memories of Al Green and the Rolling Stones circa "Sympathy for the Devil".

Stokes could not single out what made the song so "utterly inspirational", but said it was "soul music that avoids the obvious cliches of the genre and cuts to the core".

[35] Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called the "disillusioned" track one of the album's high points.

[36] Denise Sullivan of Allmusic wrote that the song was "among U2's finest recordings", and she praised its "lyrical simplicity, heart-rending vocal delivery, and evocative instrumentation".

But it's also very much about the duty to stay together, about finding some kind of connection in times of war, fragmentation, plague, poverty and cultural difference.

[91] Released on 27 March 1995,[92] her version debuted and peaked at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 8 April 1995.

Piccadilly radio/Manchester music coordinator Christian Smith said it's a "brilliant track", adding, "Since it starts of really slow, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of radio programmers have a hard time getting into it.

After being invited to join the group on stage at their New York gig in 2005, Blige performed the track with U2 and received a standing ovation.

The song was a major commercial success in Europe, reaching number two in Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and topping the Norwegian Singles Chart for six weeks.

"One" has been covered by numerous other artists, including Damien Rice, Johnny Logan, Johnny Cash, Adam Lambert, Howie Day, Joe Cocker, Warren Haynes, R.E.M., Gregorian, Pearl Jam, Fontaines D.C., Kendall Payne, Shinedown, Vanessa Paradis & Alain Lanty, Cowboy Junkies, Quebec pop singer Marie Carmen and the cast of the television series Glee.

"I remember seeing the queues on Dublin's Grafton Street: people waiting, sleeping, for the first copies of the new U2 record, as if some famine had hit the soul of the music world," he remarked.