On Tuesday, October 21, 2025, U2 singer Bono and guitarist The Edge accepted the 2025 Woody Guthrie Prize, and they teased a song from their upcoming album, which is still being recorded.
T Bone Burnett moderated a discussion with Bono and The Edge during the ceremony. According to the press release, at one point in their conversation, they discussed protest songs, something U2 made a career out of. However, nearly a half-century into their careers, Bono and The Edge need to be moved to write a song as powerful as “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” The singer explained, “You can't write a song to order.”
“Our favorite protest songs always had a sense of vision, something to aim for…you don’t talk about the darkness, you make the light brighter,” said The Edge.
Bono then treated the audience to a preview of the lyrics of an upcoming song — which is still a work-in-progress — called “One Life at a Time.” It was inspired by the killing of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, who was a consultant for the 2024 documentary No Other Land.
“One father shot, three children crying / if there is no law, is there no crime / if there is no hope, what’s there to rhyme / history is written one life at a time,” Bono said.
Additionally, U2's singer and guitarist performed a six-song set at the ceremony. They opened with “Running to Stand Still” from The Joshua Tree, which featured a snippet of Guthrie's “Bound for Glory.”
That was not the only nod to Guthrie. They also performed a snippet of “Jesus Christ” during “Pride (In the Name of Love)” four songs later in the set. Bono and The Edge also played “Mothers of the Disappeared,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “One,” and “Yahweh.”
“Yahweh” was the biggest surprise of the night. U2 has not performed the song since the 2006 leg of the Vertigo Tour. It felt fitting on a night like this.
The Woody Guthrie Prize is an annual award given to artists who embody Guthrie's spirit. Past winners include Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Bruce Springsteen.
Bono and The Edge are working on U2's next album. They haven't released an album of original material since Songs of Experience in 2017. In 2023, they released Songs of Surrender, a collection of 40 re-recorded songs from their past albums.
