It's a privilege to serve the poor, to be servants of noble Africans, but I better belong in the rehearsal room or in the studio with my band. That's where I want to be and I still wake up in the morning with melodies in my head.
BonoRead
Ethiopia didn't just blow my mind; it opened my mind. Anyway, on our last day at this orphanage a man handed me his baby and said, 'Would you take my son with you?' He knew, in Ireland, that his son would live, and that in Ethiopia, his son would die.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the deep emotional impact of witnessing poverty and the difficult choices some parents must make for the survival of their children.
Bono's quote captures the struggle between hope and despair that he experienced during his visit to Ethiopia. It highlights a father's heartbreaking decision to offer his child a chance at life in a different country, emphasizing the disparity in living conditions and opportunities between Ethiopia and Ireland. This poignant moment underlines the interconnectedness of humanity and the personal sacrifices made in desperate situations.
Themes
EthiopiaMindOrphanageFatherSonLifePovertyLoveChoices
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about global poverty and the importance of providing help to those in need.
More from Bono
All quotes βPerspective is the cure for depression.
BonoRead
At a certain point, I just felt, you know, God is not looking for alms, God is looking for action.
BonoRead
It's much easier to be successful than it is to be relevant. The tricks won't keep you relevant. Tricks might keep you popular for a while, but in all honesty, I don't know how U2 will stay relevant. I know we've got a future. I know we can fill stadiums. And yet with every record, I think, 'Is this it? Are we still relevant?'
BonoRead
God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.
BonoRead
Hanging out with politicians and corporations is very unhip work. But I think that the U2 audience have turned out to be incredibly subtle in their understanding.
BonoRead
Similar quotes
Because immigrants have always been particularly prone to repetition - it's something to do with that experience of moving from West to East or East to West or from island to island. Even when you arrive, you're still going back and forth; your children are going round and round. There's no proper term for it - original sin seems too harsh; maybe original trauma would be better.
Zadie SmithRead
If you've been betrayed by a spouse or a partner, it's much easier to focus on causing that person pain than it is to turn forward and actually create a life that's worthy of you in the future.
Martha NussbaumRead
You practice forgiveness for two reasons: to let others know that you no longer wish to be in a state of hostility with them and to free yourself from the self-defeating energy of resentment. Send love in some form to those you feel have wronged you and notice how much better you feel.
Wayne DyerRead
It's easy to talk to a horse if you understand his language. Horses stay the same from the day they are born until the day they die. They are only changed by the way people treat them.
Laura HillenbrandRead
Meg was going to have to learn for herself what Laurie had figured out over the summer - that it was better to leave well enough alone, to avoid unnecessary encounters with the people you'd left behind, to not keep poking at that sore tooth with the tip of your tongue. Not because you didn't love them anymore, but because you did, and because that love was useless now, just another dull ache in your phantom limb.
Tom PerrottaRead
Today, when I saw you, I realized that what is between us is nothing more than an illusion.
Gabriel Garcia MarquezRead