The latest from Bob McAlpine: With Or Without You
With Or Without You is a song by U2 from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. It is based on a repeated four bar chord pattern (I – V – VI – IV).
This fingerstyle solo guitar arrangement covers the playing of the vocal melody, the driving 8th note bass line, and the most prominent guitar parts. It takes the song up a whole tone from the original recording - moving it from the key of D to the key of E.
This new key allows for the use of more open strings, and allows the open B string to ring out through most of the performance, creating a jangly effect that is reminiscent of the classic U2 sound.