"Until the End of the World" originated from a guitar riff by vocalist Bono from a demo called "Fat Boy" that the band recorded at STS Studios in 1990, prior to the Achtung Baby sessions proper. Although guitarist the Edge loved the riff, the band struggled to finalise a song from the demo during the album's recording sessions. After the band met with German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who was looking for music to use in his film Until the End of the World, the Edge was inspired to revisit the "Fat Boy" demo. In Dublin, he used the riff to assemble a backing track with bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. The composition excited the band so much, they decided to include it on the album. They told Wenders, "You can have it but we want it, too", while also informing him that they were using the film title for the song.
