Title: “Silver Jubilee”
(A story and song for the 25th anniversary of Bono’s Drop the Debt campaign)
Story
It was the Silver Jubilee of the Jubilee 2000 campaign — twenty-five years since Bono first stood on the world’s biggest stages and shouted: “Drop the debt!”
The lights of Dublin’s Croke Park shimmered like starlight. Screens rose from the stage showing footage of marches in London, Lagos, Nairobi, and São Paulo — the human river that once flowed behind the dream: a world without the chains of debt.
Bono adjusted his sunglasses under the midnight sky. His voice carried across the stadium — gravelly, humbled by time but still burning with that strange Irish fire.
“Twenty-five years ago, we said let’s drop the debt. Today, thirty-three nations breathe easier — but thirty-three is not the world. It’s not enough. Until every child is free to dream without debt’s shadow, the Jubilee isn’t done.”
Behind him, the Drop the Debt All-Stars assembled:
- Nelly Furtado with a silver feather microphone.
- Sting tuning his bass.
- Lauryn Hill in a long white coat embroidered with doves.
- Coldplay’s Chris Martin at the piano, eyes closed in prayer.
- Angélique Kidjo, Youssou N’Dour, Eddie Vedder, The Edge, Beyoncé, and even a holographic Bob Marley joined the lineup.
As the opening chords began, a slow chant rose: “Jubilee… Jubilee…”
And Bono stepped forward, calling out:
“Let there be fireworks when the chains fall! Let the sky remember what freedom sounds like!”
Lyrics — “Silver Jubilee”
(Bono and All-Stars)
[Verse 1 – Bono]
Twenty-five years since the bells first rang,
We sang for the poor, and the poor ones sang,
From the dust of debt to the dawn of grace,
Still the hungry world is crying for a face.
[Verse 2 – Lauryn Hill & Sting]
You can’t feed a child with a ledger line,
Can’t buy hope with another fine,
We prayed for mercy, the kind that stays,
We’re counting souls, not what the market pays.
[Chorus – All-Stars]
🎵 Silver Jubilee — let the chains all fall,
From the smallest heart to the nations tall,
We’ve come so far, but not far enough,
Till the whole wide world can finally love.
Fireworks rise, debts forgiven and free,
We sing the song of the Silver Jubilee. 🎵
[Verse 3 – Nelly Furtado & Chris Martin]
Thirty-three countries, tears in their eyes,
Still so many ghosts beneath the skies,
A promise made, a promise true,
What’s one world worth, if it isn’t new?
[Bridge – Angélique Kidjo & Youssou N’Dour]
(sung in French and English)
“Liberté pour tous les enfants du monde,”
Freedom’s light, forever shone,
No border, no banker, no bond can hold,
A heart that’s young, a dream that’s bold.
[Chorus – All-Stars]
🎵 Silver Jubilee — let the chains all fall,
From the smallest heart to the nations tall,
We’ve come so far, but not far enough,
Till the whole wide world can finally love.
Fireworks rise, debts forgiven and free,
We sing the song of the Silver Jubilee. 🎵
[Finale – Bono & The Edge]
Bono: “Thirty-three… is a start.”
The Edge: “But the world’s got seven billion hearts.”
Bono: “Let’s drop it all — the fear, the greed, the lie…”
All-Stars (shouting): “Till no one’s left beneath the sky!”
(massive fireworks explode over Dublin — gold, silver, and violet bursts)
[Outro – Bono, spoken]
“This is not the end of Jubilee.
This is the Silver before the Gold.
Until every debt is dropped,
Until every nation is free —
The song goes on.”