record now, it would never have happened." "So Cruel" was developed acoustically, with guitarist the Edge playing an acoustic guitar, bassist Adam Clayton playing an acoustic bass, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. using a bodhrán. Author John D. Luerssen interpreted the song as beginning "with the same kind of basic approach to songcraft that gave wings to 'She's a Mystery to Me'". Bono said that "People thought it was too traditional, one more attempt at writing a song for Roy Orbison". Lyrically, it was also inspired by Scott Walker. Bono said, "His is a very delicate mode of expression on the outside, though too often it is laced underneath with a lot of pain and rage." According to Clayton, Flood "did a couple of treatments to the track that utterly transformed it." He keyed Clayton's bass with the bodhrán, which "gave it a much more bubbly, off-beat feel". This was followed by some overdubbing and the laying down of a full drum track. Flood said, "I think the way we shifted around the rhythm was very important... The bass is played, but in the studio we doctored it to change the emphasis of where the bass line lay. That turned it into something that had a more unique feel about it, meshed against the song." Duchess Nell Catchpole was brought in to play violin and viola for the song. The strings were arranged by the Edge and producer Brian Eno. Clayton explained that while the original acoustic version "wasn't something one could imagine being on the record", it "was lifted up by studio trickery." Flood believes that the use of technology was crucial in making the final mix. An early version of the track was later released on some versions of the 20th anniversary reissue of Achtung Baby. Themes During the recording sessions for Achtung Baby, the Edge separated from his wife, Aislinn O'Sullivan. Reflecting on the impact it had on U2, Bono said, "We're a really tight community. This is not like somebody's, you know, girlfriend's left. We've grown up with these people, this our family, our community. This was really hard for us... It was like the first cracks on the beautiful porcelain jug with those beautiful flowers in it that was our music and our community, starting to go 'crack'." The Edge explained that travelling to Berlin to write and record provided him with an escape from