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

But more than anything else, for the British folks Irish people were all terrorists. So when we went to Britain, it was always a lot of resistance to U2. And that's why we came to America.

I'm home a lot. Because I live in Ireland, we can live under the celebrity radar. I might go missing for a whole year.

Sadly, I do my homework. I've a soft spot for the boring minutiae. I read the Charter of the United Nations before meeting with Kofi Annan. I read the Meltzer report, and then I'll read C. Fred Bergsten's defense of institutions like the World Bank and the I.M.F. It's embarrassing to admit.

Feelings are much stronger than thoughts. We are all led by instinct, and our intellect catches up later

U2 is sort of song writing by accident really. We don't really know what we're doing and when we do, it doesn't seem to help.

Jesus, Jesus help me. I'm alone in this world.