In “Where the Streets Have No Name,” Bono envisions a world where people from all walks of life can live together peacefully, happily and without judgment.

What’s in a Name?

In the first verse, Bono sings:

“I wanna run, I want to hide / I wanna tear down the walls that hold me inside / I wanna reach out and touch the flame / Where the streets have no name”

The words came to Bono in Ethiopia, and he worked them out during his time there performing aid work. This was what led him to have societal divides so strongly in his mind.

Because of the simple but integral fact that there are no street names where he worked, Bono saw that everyone was on the same level socially and thus had an equal opportunity to make their way in the world. This way of life contrasted strongly with the world that Bono had heard of in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where your address showed virtually everything about your identity.

“Where the Streets Have No Name” is an argument for the kind of world he saw in Ethiopia. Bono urges listeners to remove the barriers that keep people apart from one another in modern society.

Cultural barriers act like walls: Although they’re there to protect, they can become a prison. Those on either side may feel controlled, manipulated or held captive.

To “touch the flame” suggests being a part of an experience and to be ignited. Bono dreams to ignite and inspire others to promote equality in this vision of the world.

Equality for All

In the second verse:

“I wanna feel sunlight on my face / I see the dust cloud disappear without a trace / I wanna take shelter from the poison rain / Where the streets have no name, yeah”

He likens bigotry to a cloud of dust. Bono then references a downpour of poisonous chemicals and his desire to find refuge from the storm.

Fire and Water

In the first chorus, for the first time in the song, the narrator speaks to the listener directly:

“Where the streets have no name / We’re still building then burning down love / Burning down love / And when I go there / I go there with you / It’s all I can do”

Building and burning suggests a cycle, potentially one of improvement. Sometimes, you have to start over to make things better. Society and relationships alike take constant work. You have to put the effort in, and people rarely get it right the first time.

This song came out in 1987, so its lyrics could easily be taken as a reference to the civil rights movements going on at the time.

In the third verse, there’s a return to rain:

“The city’s a flood, and our love turns to rust / We’re beaten and blown by the wind, trampled in dust / I’ll show you a place high on a desert plain / Where the streets have no name”

Things take a turn for the apocalyptic, and the refuge this time is a dry place, safe from the flood.

In 1987, Bono told the Chicago Sun-Times, “The guy in the song recognizes this contrast and thinks about a world where there 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.”

Lyrics

I want to run, I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls that hold me inside
I wanna reach out and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name, ha, ha, ha

I wanna feel sunlight on my face
I see that dust cloud disappear without a trace
I wanna take shelter from the poison rain
Where the streets have no name, oh, oh

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We’re still building then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there, I go there with you
It’s all I can do

The city’s a flood
And our love turns to rust
We’re beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust

I’ll show you a place
High on the desert plain, yeah
Where the streets have no name, oh, oh

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We’re still building then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there, I go there with you
It’s all I can do

Our love turns to rust
We’re beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh, and I see love
See our love turn to rust
Oh, we’re beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh, when I go there
I go there with you
It’s all I can do

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Adam Clayton / Dave Evans / Larry Mullen / Paul Hewson

Where the Streets Have No Name lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group