The lyrics were inspired by a story that Bono heard about the streets of Belfast , Northern Ireland , where a person 's religion and income are evident by the street they live on . He contrasted this with the anonymity he felt when visiting Ethiopia , saying : " ... the guy in the song recognizes this contrast and thinks about a world where it aren 't such divisions , a place where the streets have no name . To me , that 's the way a great rock ' n ' roll concert should be : a place where everyone comes together ... Maybe that 's the dream of all art : to break down the barriers and the divisions between people and touch upon the things that matter the most to us all . " Bono wrote the lyrics while on a humanitarian visit to Ethiopia with his wife , Ali Hewson ; he first wrote them down on an airsickness bag while staying in a village .