fade into the song with producer Jacknife Lee's synthesizers, which play part of the melody line. The first verse begins at 1:20 and is accompanied by the bass, drums and rhythm guitar playing the chord progression A–E–D. This alters to B–D in the pre-chorus, with a short harmony vocal line leading to the E–D chorus. After the second chorus, the lead guitar alternates with Bono's repeated "Time" into the B–A bridge before returning to an extended chorus. The vocals range from D3 in the verses to a peak of C5 in the chorus. The Edge provides backing vocals in the second verse, the first three chorus lines, and the bridge lyric "Time won't leave me as I am / Time won't take the boy out of this man". There is no chorus after the third verse; instead, the track enters into a coda where, after restating the introductory piano theme, the guitar, bass, and drum parts come to a finish. The song concludes on a final reprise of the piano notes. The radio edit, with a run-time of 4:11, is 1:36 shorter than the album version. The introduction is half the length and the bass and drums enter after only two repetitions of the piano notes. The first two verses are kept intact but the bridge is shortened by seven seconds, removing two calls of "Time." The third verse is cut and the coda shortened by twenty seconds. The sound of "City of Blinding Lights" has been compared to U2's 1987 single "Where the Streets Have No Name", prompted by a similar style of guitar playing, as well as to the atmospheric tone of the band's 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire. The melding of guitar and piano in the introduction was likened by the Edmonton Journal to the Coldplay song "Clocks". Rolling Stone described the song as "building into a bittersweet lament", while Uncut said it was "beautiful but slightly sinister", comparing the quality of the lyrics to the George Harrison song "The Inner Light". The underlying theme of "City of Blinding Lights," reflected in the chorus, is lost innocence. The theme was reinforced during an impromptu concert at Empire–Fulton Ferry State Park under the Brooklyn Bridge; Bono introduced the song by reminiscing about the first time the band arrived in New York City, calling it "a song about innocence and naïvete." Bono developed the opening stanza from a memory