Annie Lennox has shared a reimagined version of her song ‘Why?’, which she recorded to benefit ‘Together For Palestine‘. Check it out below.
The original track was first shared back in 1992 as part of Lennox’s debut solo album ‘Diva’, and remains one of her biggest hits. For the new version of the song, she has reimagined the classic track for ‘Together For Palestine’.
For the latest rendition, Lennox replaced the ending of the song with some powerful new lyrics – using the track to raise awareness for the people in Gaza.
“This is the book I never read / These are the words I never said / This is the path I’ll never tread / These are the dreams I’ll dream instead / This is the joy that’s seldom spread / These are the tears we shed,” she usually sings. “This is the fear, this is the dread / These are the contents of my head / And these are the years that we have spent / And this is what they represent.”
For the new version, these have been reimagined as: “This is the sound of drones and guns, watch the people run run run. Shoot to kill them just for fun / Bodies falling one by one.”
Check it out below.
The latest version of the hit song was made and shared in support of the ‘Together For Palestine’ efforts and pre-recorded in time for last night’s (September 17) concert at the OVO Arena Wembley.
Organised by Brian Eno, the show saw over 150 artists and cultural figures united to show solidarity and raise funds for the people of Gaza. It was also available as a livestream, and raised just under £1.5million for the ‘Together For Palestine Fund’. This will be distributed to Palestinian-led organisations such as Taawon, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Palestine Medical Relief Service.
The night saw huge performances from Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, Cat Burns, Rachel Chinouriri, Yasiin Bey, Bastille’s Dan Smith and more, and saw presenters including Eric Cantona, PinkPantheress, Richard Gere, Benedict Cumberbatch, Florence Pugh, and Nicola Coughlan speak our over the conflict.
Gere took to the stage to celebrate the doctors working in Gaza and encourage people to “speak the truth with generosity and love”, while Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan pushed for other artists to speak up, and Florence Pugh gave a short but powerful speech declaring that “silence in the face of such suffering is not neutrality”.
Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos was also involved, and made a moving speech, saying: “As someone who survived the darker chapter of our shared history, I know what it means to be stripped of dignity, of land, of hope.
“That is why I remain steadfast in my commitment to the Palestinian people. Their struggle for freedom, justice, and return is not separate from mine, it is a part of the same cry for humanity.”
Check out more about what went down at the ‘Together For Palestine’ show here.
Annie Lennox has made multiple efforts to raise awareness and support for the people in Palestine. Last month she joined Dua Lipa, Riz Ahmed, Primal Scream and Benedict Cumberbatch in hitting back at Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response to their open letter, which they wrote with Choose Love to a request to “end UK complicity” in Gaza.
Last October she also called for a ceasefire, writing of how humans are “capable of tremendous achievements and indescribable atrocities”.