" Sweetest Thing " was written by Bono as an apology to his wife for forgetting her birthday . The song opens with a short piano piece before the rest of the band begins to play . Some of Bono 's lyrics have been described as reminiscent of John Lennon . The Edge described it as " a beautiful song ... which is pop as it should be — not produced out of existence , but pop produced with a real intimacy and purity " , also noting that " It 's very new for us . " It was re @-@ recorded with some lyrical alterations and released in 1998 as a single in its own right for The Best of 1980 – 1990 . Hot Press editor Niall Stokes stated that this track , along with " Race Against Time " , is " an indicator of what U2 might have made instead of The Joshua Tree . "