Quotes

“Distance does not decide who is your brother and who is not. The church is going to have to become the conscience of the free market if it's to have any meaning in this world - and stop being its apologist.” Bono

“You see, Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice. It makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties. It doubts our concern. It questions our commitment. Because there is no way we can look at what's happening in Africa, and if we're honest, conclude that it would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else.” Bono

“Rock 'n' roll is ridiculous. It's absurd. In the past, U2 was trying to duck that. Now we're wrapping our arms around it and giving it a great big kiss.” Bono

“Books! I dunno if I ever told you this, but books are the greatest gift one person can give another.” Bono

“Religion can be the enemy of God. It's often what happens when God, like Elvis, has left the building.” Bono

“We thought that we had the answers, it was the questions we had wrong.” Bono

“It's stasis that kills you off in the end, not ambition.” Bono

“You see, idealism detached from action is just a dream. But idealism allied with pragmatism, with rolling up your sleeves and making the world bend a bit, is very exciting. It's very real. It's very strong.” Bono

“Happy the country that lives on nothing but its wits; cursed be the one that thinks it can get rich by planting or digging or drilling for wealth.” Bono

“Africa is a continent in flames. And deep down, if we really accepted that Africans were equal to us, we would all do more to put the fire out. We're standing around with watering cans, when what we really need is the fire brigade.” Bono

“The fact is that ours is the first generation that can look disease and extreme poverty in the eye, look across the ocean to Africa, and say this, and mean it. We do not have to stand for this. A whole continent written off - we do not have to stand for this.” Bono

“America is not just a country, it's an idea, and real Americans are getting busy.” Bono

“Because you know when you first become famous, you start walking a little different because people are staring at you.” Bono

“God's Spirit moves through us and the world at a pace that can never be constricted by any one religious paradigm.” Bono

“I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music and that's what makes them extraordinary.” Bono

“It's so sweet, I feel like my teeth are rotting when I listen to the radio.” Bono

“So what we're talking about here is human rights. The right to live like a human. The right to live, period. And what we're facing in Africa is an unprecedented threat to human dignity and equality.” Bono

“Marriage is this grand madness, and I think if people knew that, they would perhaps take it more seriously.” Bono

“Overcoming my dad telling me that I could never amount to anything is what has made me the megalomaniac that you see today.” Bono

“The French are so into themselves that they don't even notice you.” Bono

“U2 is an original species... there are colours and feelings and emotional terrain that we occupy that is ours and ours alone.” Bono

“You know, God has some really weird kids, and I find it hard to be in their company most of the time.” Bono

“Actually oddly enough, I think my work, the activism, will be forgotten. And I hope it will. Because I hope those problems will have gone away.” Bono

“Africa will thrive.” Bono

“Anyone that's involved in development has discovered that all the good work that's been done in development has been undone by the AIDS emergency.” Bono

“As hard as it is, as ghetto as it is, hip-hop is pop music. It's the sound of music getting out of the ghetto, while rock is looking for a ghetto.” Bono

“At the heart of the Irish economy has always been the philosophy of tax competitiveness. On the cranky left, that is very annoying; I can see that.” Bono

“Celebrity is ridiculous and silly and it's mad that people like me are listened to - you know, rap stars and movie stars.” Bono

“Convictions, in the end, they can be dangerous, but a world without them is just kind of an awful kind of gray, amorphous mass.” Bono

“Facebook are an amazing team, a brilliant team. It's a technology that brings people together.” Bono