Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid (1984)
"Do They Know It’s Christmas" is a song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in response to television reports of the famine in Ethiopia between 1983 and 1985. It was first recorded in a single day on 25 November 1984 by Band Aid, a supergroup composed by Geldof and Ure and consisting mainly of the biggest British and Irish musical acts of the time. [1]
Started Off With Black Empowerment Purpose
This song is a charity single organized by Bob Geldof, who was the lead singer of The Boomtown RatsAfter watching a BBC famine documentary in Ethiopia, he was inspired to create this song. Geldof wrote the lyrics, and Midge Ure of the Ultravox band wrote the music and produced the track, which was not an easy task since there were so many voices involved.
The premise of the song, which was performed by England’s greatest superstars at the time, is that while we’re eating the fatted calf and having our figgy pudding for Christmas, there are children who have nothing to eat in Africa. [2]
“But say a prayer to pray for the other ones at Christmas time
It’s hard, but when you’re having fun
There’s a world outside your window
And it’s a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you” [3]
Around 11,9 million copies of the single were sold worldwideIt helped spark Live Relief, a mega-concert whose proceeds have gone to Africa. The concert has raised over $200 million to support children in Africa.
Controversy
According to Solome Lemma, co-founder of Africans in the Diaspora and Africa Responds on Ebola, not only did the original song establish stereotypes about Ethiopia, but it did so in a patronizing way. Band Aid has raised money, but it has left Ethiopia and the rest of Africa with a very negative legacy that has survived to this day. Band Aid's initial single was accused of patronizing, perpetuating a white savior narrative. [4]
This song is about famine in Ethiopia, but it's generalizing to all of Africa. It's snowing in Africa, though not a lot. Band Aid basically cast themselves as privileged white saviours before "white privilege" was really a thing.
What happens in one African country doesn't necessarily happen in all African countries. The lyrics of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" suggest that its authors didn't bother to fact check their work. It does, in fact, snow in Africa, and even if starving Ethiopians had been aware of 1984's holiday season, many of them probably wouldn't have cared. [5]
Reference
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_They_Know_It%27s_Christmas%3F
- ↑ https://hooksandharmony.com/guilty-song-know-christmas-band-aid/
- ↑ https://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/xmas/dotheyknowitschristmas.html
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/nov/20/african-musicians-band-aid-30-alternative-song-ebola
- ↑ https://jeremyhelligar.medium.com/the-unbearable-unwokeness-of-do-they-know-its-christmas-5db1df36558a