The song was the result of combining two pieces of music, the first of which was conceived in the studio, and the second of which was a soundcheck recording from one of the group's concert tours that was discovered by guitarist the Edge.

The lyrics were written by lead vocalist Bono and describe two characters in a brightly lit city in a futuristic version of European society.

During the Zoo TV Tour in 1992, U2 were trying to create a vision of an attractive future for Europe, as opposed to a negative, dystopian image that would be found in science fiction.

Bono and guitarist the Edge had been reading works by cyberpunk author William Gibson, who wrote about a futuristic urban environment known as "The Sprawl".

[5] Bono wanted to use noise to create a visual setting for the song, similar to Gibson's futuristic world, filled with advertisements on LED displays and neon signs, as in the 1982 film Blade Runner.

[6] The closing song on the album, "The Wanderer", features Johnny Cash on vocals, and was intended on being the "antidote" to the futuristic-sounding opener.

[6][8][12] The background voices include a clip of George H. W. Bush saying "Peace talks", and are referenced in the album notes as "courtesy of the advertising world".

[8] The introduction then begins to fade out fifteen seconds later, while a guitar riff played with a delay and wah-wah effect joins the mix.

The song describes two characters in a setting with a dull and grey appeal, who emerge from blinking neon signs into a brightly lit modern city.

DJ Carter Alan noted that the sounds seemed to draw a connection from Achtung Baby, but Bono stated that it was not intentional and that he didn't want it to have "anything to do with the past".

[1] Following the first three verses of advertising slogans, the song continues with the lyrics "I have no compass, and I have no map" and "No reason to get back", referring to the uncertainty of the new direction of U2's music at the time.

The phrase was also used in the song "Always"[18] – a B-side to the "Beautiful Day" single released in 2000[19]  — and was spoken by Bono in the PopMart: Live from Mexico City video.

This part of the opening segment was intended to create confusion among the audience regarding the show's message, and eventually lead to information overload.

[30] Bono originally discussed how the song would be played live during the album's recording sessions, saying that the Edge's guitar riffs may be extended in concert.

[5] The song debuted live at a concert in Glasgow in August 1993, and was performed in the middle of the set list following "Numb".

[38] The Edmonton Journal commented that by hiding themselves from the fans during the performance, the combination of advertising slogans and flickering lights "help portray this Blade Runner-type world that U2 wants us to escape.

This interpretation of the song lacks the piano intro and first verses, serving as a segue from "Bullet the Blue Sky" into "Where the Streets Have No Name".

David Sinclair of The Times and Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone both felt that "Zooropa" set the album's tone from the start.

[42] The Independent felt "Zooropa" was "a sprawling multi-sectioned piece that drifts from two minutes of gentle radio babble into a more familiar reverb-rock structure".

[12] Jon Pareles from The New York Times said that the track was reminiscent of old U2 songs, but added new elements such as distorted vocals and repeating guitar squealing.

[43] In Vox, Max Bell wrote that the track "commences with bleeding channels of synthetic organ, a jabber of voices, treated piano, Arabic chants and a smattering of the Mullen/Clayton dub that underpins the band's increasingly rhythmical outlook."

Robert Vagacs, author of the book Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in the Theological Perspective, describes the song as the antimatter of "Where the Streets Have No Name", in both musical and thematic aspects.

[45] "Beautiful Day", the opening song from U2's 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, describes "a fresh start in Zooropa".

[48] English professor Kurt Koenigsberger of Case Western Reserve University stated that the consumer advertisements constitute Zooropa as a "sardonically dystopic" location.

"[53] José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, quoted the song's lyrics at a 2005 press conference after enlisting Bono in an effort to get governments in the European Union to give more money to developing countries,[54][55] and stated that the lyrics inspired an article he wrote about the future of Europe.

[58] Kurt Koenigsberger's book The Novel and the Menagerie mentioned "Zooropa" in a section discussing Salman Rushdie and his appearance on the Zoo TV Tour.