In the background of the video, a pendulum can be seen swinging, a clock can be seen ticking, as well as dollars falling from the sky, various scientific objects (DNA, satellite feeds, etc.), and a cross. "man walking up incline", "man running", "man playing pool").
The video primarily features a sequence of clips of the band members playing their instruments and performing a series of distinct actions, with captions for each one (e.g. Muybridge was a photographer who was the first person to successfully capture fast motion on film, using his device, coincidentally named the Zoopraxiscope, a reference to the lyrics ("A man makes a picture – a moving picture/Through light projected he can see himself up close"). The music video for "Lemon", directed by Mark Neale, was filmed in black and white with a grid-like background as a tribute to Eadweard Muybridge. Augusto from Cashbox stated that here, the band "continues to push the envelope, adding yet another style twist to its catalog." He added, "Bouncy and quite danceable cut, which follows the desensitizing " Numb" single, starts with a funky groove and augments with powerful and fun vocals from Bono and one of the strongest hooks the band has unleashed in quite some time." Alan Jones from Music Week noted that it finds the singer "adopting a Jagger-like falsetto over a bouncy but sparse track that could lend itself to a dance remix." Music video Inspired remixes by Robbie Adams and David Morales will open doors at crossover radio and in clubs." Troy J. In its original form, track will be a joy for top 40 programmers. This time, Bono dabbles in sunny pop/ soul, wrapping a luscious falsetto around an infectious hook and funk-fortified rhythm base.
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Jittery, danceable moment from the yummy " Zooropa" collection is yet another step away from standard U2 fare. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called the song a wonderful moment from the album, describing it as "space-age German disco".
As with most of Zooropa’s material, "Lemon" has never been performed live by U2 since the close of the Zoo TV tour. Each performance was immediately followed by the band's " With or Without You". During each performance, Bono would perform the song dressed as Zoo TV character " MacPhisto," a former cabaret performer with devilish horns. The song was played live at 10 different Zoo TV Tour shows in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, during the show's encore.
The film footage inspired Bono to write lyrics about using film to recreate and preserve memory. He explains that it was a "strange experience to receive, in the post, from a very distant relative, early Super 8 footage of my mother, aged 24, younger than me, playing a game of rounders in slow motion." The footage showed Bono's mother at a wedding as the maid of honour, wearing a lemon-coloured dress. Lead vocalist Bono wrote the lyrics with his late mother in mind. Guitarist the Edge said the song originated from something he "worked up with a drum machine and bass, very rhythmic." He explained that he found it difficult to compose a guitar part to the song until he utilized an "unusual gated guitar effect which worked with the rhythm." "Lemon" was written late during the Zooropa sessions between March–May 1993 during the band's break in the Zoo TV Tour.