"Eating from a can"

Not because I don't understand ---- love. But because I'm hungry.

And that lyric is proof that U2 was pimping for the U.S. audience in 1987 because they call them "tins" in the UK and Ireland.

 

I eat tuna from the can like a true hobo.

 

I changed my mind and ordered some 'za. But the point stands.

 

Well, let's see.
U2's 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire featured songs: MLK, Pride (In The Name of Love) (about MLK), 4th of July and Elvis Presley In America.
1987's The Joshua Tree was packed to the gills with American imagery. The Rattle and Hum semi/live album in 1989 was half recorded in Memphis.
I don't think it's some big shocker that Bono would use American idioms talking about canned food.

 

I eat fruit cocktail from the can. Why dirty a dish if I'm going to eat the entire thing?

 

I always eat a spoonful of the bean soup concentrate before mixing it with the water and putting it in the pot.

 

My brother was a low-level supervisor with a state DOT. One day, the high level supervisors were slated to come to his lab/garage. His mid-level supervisor warned him “don’t let the big bosses see your staff eat from cans. It looks bad.”

 

Spaghettios with meatballs from the can. Always and forever.

 

I ate enough stuff sold in cans as a kid.

I abhor anything packaged in a can. Something about metal mixing with food.

Of course I’m fine drinking swill from a can (preferable, actually, for cheap beer) and I doubt that there’s evidence showing that paper containers or Mason jars are somehow better for food safety than cans.

 

Bono has said he wish he spent more time on that song and that's part of the reason. Musically it's a great song, but lyrically it's weak and inaccurate.