Crumbs from Your Table

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“Crumbs from Your Table”
Song by U2
Album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Released 22 November/23, 2004
Genre Rock
Length 5:03
Label Island / Interscope
Producer Steve Lillywhite with Jacknife Lee
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb track listing
"A Man and a Woman"
(7)
Crumbs from Your Table
(8)
"One Step Closer"
(9)


"Crumbs from Your Table" is the eighth track of U2's eleventh studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

The song, which is about relief efforts in Africa, is a plea from Bono to First World countries to provide aid. The phrase "crumbs from your table" is used as a metaphor to illustrate how relatively small amounts of relief (food, money, medical supplies) from First World countries can make a significant difference in the quality of life for those in Africa. The line, "Would you deny for others / What you demand for yourself?" echoes this sentiment. The song also contains the lyrics "Where you live should not decide / Whether you live or whether you die." These lines are a common theme in Bono's speeches in which he tries to raise awareness about the problem of African poverty.

The song also is a metaphor about a relationship between a couple, in which, one of them, receives the crumbs from the table of the other one. This double metaphor (Africa/love) is usually part of Bono's speech live or in a conference.[citation needed] The title of the song comes from the Gospel of Luke and the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus. Lazarus is a poor man who longs for the food that falls from the rich man's table.[citation needed]

The song is also included on the bonus DVD that comes with the special edition of the album. It has only been played a handful on times during the third leg of the Vertigo Tour.