Confession Time

[Bones58]

Even though it is often quoted as one of U2's greatest lines (I like it myself), I don't actually get It

"Every Artist Is A Cannibal
Every Poet Is A Thief
All Kill Their Inspiration And Sing About Their Grief"

Can anyone explain this to me

 

[mandrake]

Ever hear the line "Good artist copy, great artist steal"? It's kinda true in a way. Anything in art or design is simply building off of something else.

 

[BVS]

"Every Artist Is A Cannibal

They feed off each other...

Every Poet Is A Thief

They all "copy" or "steal" at some point...

All Kill Their Inspiration And Sing About Their Grief"

It's kinda like this... Have you ever noticed most good music (or art for that fact) comes from a place of meloncoly? That love songs or happy songs usually have some cheese to it? It's hard to write about joy or to write about love without sounding cliche. The reason so much art comes from darker places is it's easier to stop and reflect on those kind of moments. When you are truly happy or in love, you'll rarely stop to write about it, you're too consumed by it... That's why so many great artist have sad back stories to their lives.

So in short this line can mean that artist will sometimes be self destructive so that they have something to write about...

 

[kingofsorrow]

it can also mean that there are no original works of art. everything has been done/said/performed by someone else before at some point in time.