The track was written in memory of Greg Carroll, a New Zealander the band first met in Auckland during the Unforgettable Fire Tour in 1984.

"One Tree Hill" was received favourably by critics, who variously described it as "a soft, haunting benediction",[2] "a remarkable musical centrepiece",[3] and a celebration of life.

They ended up taking Bono up One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie), one of the highest – and more spiritually significant to Māori people – of Auckland's largest volcanoes.

[5][9] On 3 July 1986,[12] just before the start of the recording sessions for The Joshua Tree, Carroll was killed in a motorcycle accident while on a courier run.

[9] The event shocked the entire band; drummer Larry Mullen Jr. said, "his death really rocked us – it was the first time anyone in our working circle had been killed.

"[10] Guitarist the Edge said, "Greg was like a member of the family, but the fact that he had come under our wing and had travelled so far from home to be in Dublin to work with us made it all the more difficult to deal with.

"[13] Bassist Adam Clayton described it as "a very sobering moment", saying, "it inspired the awareness that there are more important things than rock 'n' roll.

[19] Bono learned of Jara after meeting René Castro, a Chilean mural artist, while on Amnesty International's A Conspiracy of Hope tour.

Castro had been tortured and held in a concentration camp for two years by the military because his artwork criticised the Pinochet-led regime that had seized power in 1973 during the coup.

[19][21] He became more familiar with him after reading Una Canción Truncada (An Unfinished Song), written by Jara's widow Joan Turner.

[19] Clayton called it part of a trilogy of songs on the album, along with "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Mothers of the Disappeared", that decry the involvement of the United States in the Chilean coup.

[26] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post acknowledged the tribute to Carroll, adding that it demonstrated U2's belief that music could spur change.

Hot Press editor Niall Stokes called it "a spiritual tour de force", saying "it is a hymn of praise and celebration which described the traditional Māori burial of their friend on One Tree Hill and links it poetically with themes of renewal and redemption.

"[9] Beth Maynard, a Church rector from Fairhaven, Massachusetts, felt the song "vows faith in the face of loss, combining elegiac lines about a friend ... and the martyred Chilean activist and folk singer Victor Jara, with a subtle evocation of end-time redemption and a wrenching wail to God to send the pentecostal Latter Rain.

"[28] Matt Soper, Senior Minister of the West Houston Church of Christ, believed the lyrics were an attempt by Bono to understand God's place in the world.

[29] Steve Stockman, a chaplain at Queen's University Belfast, felt that the song alluded to "transcendent places beyond the space and time of earth".

[30] Music journalist Bill Graham noted "the lyrics, with their reference to traditional Māori burial ceremonies on One Tree Hill, indicated that the band's faith didn't exclude an empathy with others' beliefs and rituals.

[24][33] The cover art (photographed by Anton Corbijn), sleeve (designed by Steve Averill), and B-sides ("Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Running to Stand Still") were identical to those used for U2's 1987 single "In God's Country", released only in North America.

[17] Steve Morse of The Boston Globe compared Bono's vocals at the song's conclusion to the passion of American soul singer Otis Redding, also noting that the coda was reminiscent of the hymn "Amazing Grace".

[2] Bill Graham of Hot Press said the song was "hopeful, not grim", describing the lyric "We run like a river to the sea" as "[musician Mike Scott's] metaphor recast in terms of eternal life and the Maori's own belief.

"[42] He described the Edge's playing as "a loose-limbed guitar melody with both an African and a Hawaiian tinge", concluding by saying "despite its moving vocal coda, 'One Tree Hill' isn't sombre.

"[4] Writing for The New York Times, John Rockwell felt that it was an example of U2 stretching their range, saying "the inclusion of musical idioms [is] never so overtly explored before on a U2 record, especially the gospel chorus of 'One Tree Hill'".

[51] The penultimate performance, on 31 December 1989, was broadcast live on radio to 21 countries throughout Europe as a New Year's Eve present from the band.

[52] "One Tree Hill" was absent during the majority of the Zoo TV Tour, only appearing as an extended snippet at the end of "One" at both concerts in New Zealand in 1993.

[55] "One Tree Hill" was absent for the majority of the U2 360° Tour but was revived in November 2010 for two concerts in New Zealand, where it was dedicated to the miners who died in the Pike River Mine disaster; their names were displayed on the video screen during the song.

"[58] U2 played "One Tree Hill" on 25 March 2011, in Santiago, Chile, in a duet with Francisca Valenzuela, and they dedicated it to Victor Jara.

"[61] Bono added, "it's a very special song that holds inside of it a lot of strong feelings, and I don't know if we're afraid of it or something, but we should be playing it more.

[65] The video played during "One Tree Hill" featured images of a blood red-coloured moon that faded into footage of Native American people.