The open @-@ ended nature of the lyrics has led to many interpretations . Journalist Michael Campbell believed the lyrics send " a message of hope " and wish for a " world that is not divided by class , wealth , race , or any other arbitrary criterion " . With regard to the place Bono was referring to in the song , he said , " I 'm not sure , really , about that . I used to think it was Belfast ... " Journalist Niall Stokes believes the title was influenced by Bono 's and his wife Ali 's visit to Ethiopia as volunteer aid @-@ workers . Bono has expressed mixed opinions about the open @-@ ended lyrics : " I can look at it now and recognize that [ the song ] has one of the most banal couplets in the history of pop music . But it also contains some of the biggest ideas . In a curious way , that seems to work . If you get any way heavy about these things , you don 't communicate . But if you 're flip or throwaway about it , then you do . That 's one of the paradoxes I 've come to terms with . "