[2] According to Bono, he hopes that the United States, "with its unparalleled economic, technological, military, and cultural power, will rethink its humble origins, the purpose that made it great.
"[1] Bono described the song as a "paean to America" based on the "poetry of the Declaration of Independence and the taut truth in the Constitution",[3] as well as The New Colossus, the poem written by Emma Lazarus for the Statue of Liberty.
In writing of the origin of the song, Stewart said, "Bono was crafting the words in a way that would make people think about the fact that 'America' as a concept was a truly great idea, based on the bedrock of equality.
Bono, The Edge, Beyoncé, and Stewart performed the song on 29 November 2003 at the 46664 concert in Cape Town, South Africa to "break the stigmatisation that goes with being HIV positive".
The video features, in order of appearance, Dave Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Amy Keys, Macy Gray, Jason Alexander, Colbie Caillat, Whoopi Goldberg, Joss Stone, Buju Banton, Ann Marie Calhoun, Barry Manilow, Linda Perry, Cyndi Lauper, Sérgio Mendes, Herbie Hancock, Mike Bradford, Margaret Cho, Cindy Gomez, Martin Luther King Jr., Joan Baez, Daedelus, Pamela Anderson, Peter & Gordon, Sierra Swan, Nadirah X, and Perez Hilton.