The sequenced beat was chosen to give the song a feeling of discipline, so that when Mullen's acoustic drums enter the song, "they mean something", in Lanois' words. Producer Steve Lillywhite was hired by U2 in December 1986 to help mix some songs for The Joshua Tree; "With or Without You" was one of them. While Lillywhite and engineer Mark Ellis were mixing it, Eno entered the room and told them that he wanted to change the introduction. Ellis said: "And it was kind of awe-inspiring because he said, 'Right, send this guitar through those ten effects over there and send that guitar through those ten effects over there and then feed them back to each other.' So what started as a traditional bit of rhythm guitar, bass, and drums suddenly became something quite otherworldly and spiritual, and the sound of the music you were hearing started to give you a feeling of where the song was going to go prior to the lyric. I thought that was really visionary." Ultimately, "With or Without You" was the most debated song of those on which Lillywhite worked, as Eno and Lanois each had ideas different from his. Lillywhite, who wanted a more mainstream approach to his mix, favoured "a little more crash, bang" sound to Mullen's drums that enter later in the song, while Eno preferred that the drums remain "more mysterious and more supportive". Bono wrote the lyrics during his first night visiting the Côte d'Azur in 1986, while struggling to reconcile his responsibilities as both a married man and a musician. His wanderlust in belonging to a musical act was often at odds with his domestic life. While writing the lyrics, he realised that neither facet of his life defined him, but rather the tension between the two did. He explained that the final lyric is about torment and how repressing desires only makes them stronger. Composition "With or Without You" is written in a 4/4 time signature and is played at a tempo of 110 beats per minute. Although certain stanzas of lyrics are repeated, the song does not follow a traditional verse-chorus form. Lanois says of it, "It has tension and builds like one of those great Roy Orbison songs, where every section is unique and never repeats. I like that kind of sophistication [...]." The song begins with a minimal drum beat of eighth notes played