U2 wrote " Peace on Earth " in response to the Omagh bombing of August 1998 . The song is a tribute to the victims of the bombing . Moreover , its lyrics include the names of the people killed ( Sean , Julia , Gareth , Anne , and Breda ) The band has performed the song most notably during the Elevation Tour in 2001 , using it along with " Walk On " as an encore . On 21 September 2001 U2 performed a few verses of " Peace on Earth " along with " Walk On " in London , England for the simulcast telethon " America : A Tribute to Heroes " . The telethon was produced to raise money for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks . During that performance , Bono replaced the original " I 'm sick of hearing again and again that there 's gon na be peace on Earth " with " I 'm sick of hearing again and again that there 's '' ' never ' '' gon na be peace on Earth . " Irish journalist Niall Stokes calls " Peace on Earth " the band 's most " agnostic song yet " , saying that it " takes that sense of abandonment " felt in " Wake Up Dead Man " " a stage further " . Bill Graham echoes this view asking if this is " ' Wake Up Dead Man ' part two ? " . Exclaiming that , " Bono does little to hide the bitterness as he spits out the words " peace on earth " . Critics have also compared and contrasted the song with the band 's earlier single " Sunday Bloody Sunday " . Višnja Cogan writes the " two songs deal with the same subject : the conflict and violence in Northern Ireland , whichever side it comes from . However , ' Sunday Bloody Sunday ' deals with an historical event and is approached in a particular way : the ideas of surrender , forgiveness and neutrality are very much present . " Peace on Earth " was written in the aftermath of Omagh and is much more emotional . " Ryan Jones of the '' Bergen Record '' felt that " Peace on Earth " contained echoes of the band 's 1987 song " Mothers of the Disappeared " in its lyrics and the tone of the instrumental prelude
Omagh bombing
Omagh bombing
Peace on Earth (U2 song)