U2 released “Walk On” as a U.K. single on November 19, 2001, through Island Records. It was the fourth single issued there from their 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, following an earlier Canadian release. By the time it reached British shops, the song had travelled from a difficult studio arrangement to a performance on America: A Tribute to Heroes, the benefit broadcast for people affected by the September 11 attacks.
Getting the recording into shape had involved putting two songs back together. Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois produced the track, with Steve Lillywhite contributing additional production. In a 2020 interview with Hot Press, Lillywhite recalled being played “Walk On” and another song called “Home” after working on “Beautiful Day.” He heard the strongest chorus in the former and the strongest verse in the latter. U2 then explained that the two had originally been one song. Working with Lillywhite, they reunited those sections.
That approach fitted the role Lillywhite described in the interview: arriving toward the end of sessions to help finish material the band had been developing with Eno and Lanois. “I think I have a balance between art and commerce,” he said. With “Walk On,” that meant recognizing which parts belonged together after the writing had taken them in separate directions.
Bono's lyrics also changed perspective during their development. The song was inspired by Aung San Suu Kyi's campaign for democracy in Burma and the separation from her family that accompanied it. Speaking to Sonicnet in an interview excerpt preserved on U2's song page, Bono explained that he initially imagined writing from her family's point of view. He ultimately made the situation less specific, describing the result as “a love song about somebody having to leave a relationship for the right reasons.” The lyrics also supplied the title of All That You Can't Leave Behind, connecting the song's account of departure to the album as a whole.
Before the U.K. release, U2 performed “Walk On” for America: A Tribute to Heroes on September 21, 2001. The broadcast raised money for people affected by the terrorist attacks ten days earlier. A song written around one person's separation and sacrifice had become the band's contribution to a collective relief effort.
The November single campaign gave the recording another revision. Nigel Godrich made a new mix that appeared on the enhanced CD and DVD editions. The enhanced CD paired it with an acoustic version of “Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of,” mixed by Lillywhite. A separate CD edition carried the video version of “Walk On” alongside live recordings of “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “Stay (Faraway, So Close!).” The different editions offered distinct versions of the main song as well as different companion tracks.
“Walk On” reached No. 5 on the U.K. singles chart. In 2002, it won the Grammy for Record of the Year, following “Beautiful Day” in 2001. Two recordings from All That You Can't Leave Behind had taken that award in consecutive years.
