"There was a guy walking down the street, singing it at the top of his lungs. I thought, 'Wow — that song can be interpreted a whole different way.' " Warren Haynes explains the lucky break that led to his transformational take on U2's "One"

Warren Haynes has a deep catalog that includes songs he’s written for the Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule and his solo releases, not to mention tunes composed with and for other artists.

But when it comes to the songs he covers, no cut resonates with listeners like Haynes’ take on U2’s “One.” Originally recorded and released on the group’s 1991 album Achtung Baby, “One” has become celebrated as one of the group's finest songs from an era in which they radically transformed their sound.

Unlike U2’s official release, Haynes’ moving performance of “One” is a solo affair, with just him singing over his own acoustic guitar accompaniment.

We asked him to tell us the story behind his eloquent cover, shared below in a special recording made for Classic Rock magazine in 2015. Here’s what he told us.

"Well, let's go back...When Acthtung Baby came out, my wife Stefani was doing A&R at Island Records, so she got an advance copy of the record a long while before it came out. I listened to the whole thing and really dug the entire record; I think it's one of their best. But that song made a particular impression on me. It was different than anything I had heard them do.

"I was walking down the street a few months later, after the record came out, and there was this guy walking down the street, and he was kind of in his own zone. He was one of those guys who was drawing attention to himself by singing at the top of his lungs on a New York City sidewalk as he walked, and he was singing the bridge of 'One': [sings] 'Love is the temple, love the higher law....' And I happened to recognize the tune and realized how different his approach was to it. And I was, like, 'Wow, that is really cool. That song can totally be interpreted a whole different way.'

"So fast forward, Stefani and I were driving to Boston. I was gonna do a solo acoustic performance at the House of Blues there and [original Gov't Mule bassist] Allen Woody was gonna join me. It's a three- or four-hour drive, and I was thinking about what I could do that I'd never done before. And I thought, Oh, maybe that gospel version of 'One' would be really cool. So I just did it that night for the first time, and it was really fun, really different, really effective from the original version.

Warren Haynes - One (U2 Cover) | Unplugged | Classic Rock Magazine - YouTube

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"That began my history of playing my interpretation of that tune. I did it at the Bonnaroo solo performance that turned out to be a live album in 2004. I don't do it that often; I think it just depends on the audience and how long it's been since I've sung it, and if I think it would be a nice addition to a particular set list. I actually was doing it occasionally with the symphony earlier this year when I did some of those shows. We had an arrangement done for it, and it's gonna be on the live recording that comes out next year with the [Asheville, North Carolina] Symphony.

"From a guitar standpoint I'm actually making less of it than U2 did. I'm just playing it like a folk song, with cowboy chords. It just kind of felt it that way. It's very understated, for me. There’s not a lot of interpretive interplay with what I'm doing. I'm just focusing on laying down the core rhythm of playing it. It's nice for the accompaniment of the melody and the sort of gospel interpretation of it. And when we play it with a band or the symphony, it leaves space for everybody else to kind of do their own thing.

"I heard a rumor that Bono had heard my version and liked it. I don't even remember who told me that. I hate to speculate, but I'd hope they like it."

The latest Warren Haynes Band album, Million Voices Whisper, was released November 1. Haynes is co-host of the Soulshine concert for hurricane benefit relief, which takes place this Sunday, November 24, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show will be live-streamed free via YouTube.

Haynes' annual New Year's Run with Gov't Mule plays December 28 in New Haven, Conn., and Dec. 30-31 at the Beacon Theatre in New York — launching a 30th anniversary celebration for the band that will include special concert appearances and archival releases. The Warren Haynes Band tours in February, and he's also planning to release a remixed 30th anniversary edition of his first solo album, 1993's Tales of Ordinary Madness, with bonus tracks.