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
As a musician and a songwriter it is an act of the ego to believe that other people might be interested in your point of view. But it is usually an empathetic nature that gets you going in the first place. Music keeps the heart porous in many ways.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the balance between ego and empathy in creating music.
Bono emphasizes that while there may be an element of ego involved in sharing one's music and viewpoint, it is fundamentally empathy that inspires the act of creation. He suggests that music serves to keep one's emotional connections open and sensitive, allowing both the artist and the listener to engage deeply with their feelings and experiences.
Themes
MusicEmpathyEgoCreationExpression
In practice
Example use cases
A musician might use this quote to explain the deeper motivations behind their songwriting in an interview.
More from Bono
All quotes →Perspective is the cure for depression.
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At a certain point, I just felt, you know, God is not looking for alms, God is looking for action.
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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
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