<P> The open - ended nature of the lyrics has led to many interpretations . Journalist Michael Campbell believed the lyrics send "a message of hope" and wish for a "world that is not divided by class, wealth, race, or any other arbitrary criterion". With regard to the place Bono was referring to in the song, he said, "I'm not sure, really, about that . I used to think it was Belfast ..." Journalist Niall Stokes believes the title was influenced by Bono's and his wife Ali's visit to Ethiopia as volunteer aid - workers . Bono has expressed mixed opinions about the open - ended lyrics: "I can look at it now and recognize that (the song) has one of the most banal couplets in the history of pop music . But it also contains some of the biggest ideas . In a curious way, that seems to work . If you get any way heavy about these things, you don't communicate . But if you're flip or throwaway about it, then you do . That's one of the paradoxes I've come to terms with ." </P> <P> Originally, the third single from The Joshua Tree was meant to be the song "Red Hill Mining Town", but "Where the Streets Have No Name" was released instead, in August 1987 . The single was released on 7 - inch, 12 - inch, cassette and CD single formats . Three B - sides were featured on the single, including "Race Against Time", "Silver and Gold", and "Sweetest Thing", except for the 7 - inch release, which only featured the latter two tracks . The 12 - inch single featured "Race Against Time" on side A of the record (despite being a "B - side"), and the cassette single featured all four tracks on both sides of the tape . Although not as successful as the album's first two singles, the song did chart well . In the U.S., the song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 on the Album Rock Tracks charts . The song reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, and it topped the Irish Singles Chart . </P> <P> The video begins with an aerial shot of a block in Los Angeles, and clips of radio broadcasts are heard with disc jockeys stating that U2 is planning on performing a concert downtown and expecting crowds of 30,000 people . Police show up to the set and inform the band's crew of the security issue that the film shoot is causing, due to the large number of people who are coming to watch the performance . Two minutes into the video, U2 are seen on the roof of a liquor store at the corner of 7th St. and S. Main St., and perform "Where the Streets Have No Name" to a large crowd of people standing in the streets surrounding the building . Towards the end of the song, the police tell the crew that the performance is about to be shut down, and eventually police walk onto the roof while the crowd are booing the police . </P> <P> The video for "Where the Streets Have No Name" was directed by Meiert Avis and produced by Michael Hamlyn and Ben Dossett . The band attracted over 1,000 people during the video's filming, which took place on the rooftop of a liquor store in Downtown Los Angeles on 27 March 1987 . The band's performance on a rooftop in a public place was a reference to The Beatles' final concert, as depicted in the film Let It Be . </P>

Did u2 really play on a roof in la