Songs

It’s that time of year and Do They Know It’s Christmas is one of those holiday songs that defies genre and is played on almost every radio station I listen to.  It’s a holiday staple and by far the best of the three major singles to come out of the 1984-85 Band Aid initiatives to raise awareness and funds for the starving in Ethiopia.

Not only was the song the best of the bunch, it was the first of the bunch, leading other countries to put together their own Supergroup singles and it was also a pre-cursor to other fundraising initiatives like Comic Relief and Geldof’s own Live Aid concert.

Do They Know It’s Christmas, when compared to other Band Aid songs, is simply a better written song.  It’s the one in the bunch that paints the best picture of the bleakness of the situation in Ethiopia and is the strongest call to action to give and to feed the world.

Not that that makes it a great song, musically.  In this specific genre of song it is more about the intentions, spectacle and eventual outcome than the actual song itself.  It’s an engaging genre where you try to pick out the voices in the song and entertaining to see pairings of stars you would never see otherwise.

The song made massive amounts of money for charity – Geldof had hoped to raise £70 000 and the song ended up making over  £8 Million – and was an instant number one in the UK and many other countries, except the U.S. where, despite outselling the number 1 single 4 to 1, it received very little airplay in videoland which hurt its overall status.

My dad, who was born and raised on the Isle Of Wight, loved this song and it made its way onto his mix tapes that were listened to all year.  It’s not so much a Christmas song to me as it is a memory of a pop/rock sensation that you couldn’t escape.  I would be mowing the lawn in the middle of summer while Do They Know It’s Christmas blasted out of the mega speakers in the shed that my dad had turned into a mini concert hall as a part of the ongoing war with our neighbours.  But that’s a story for another time…

Have a look and listen now to the song that started it all.

Now, on the other end of the spectrum and a song that had no place in our house or on our mix tapes, was We Are The World.  Even a jaded Geldof himself, years after, admitted that Do They Know Its Christmas was not a good song musically.

In reference to it he said “I am responsible for two of the worst songs in history. The other one is ‘We Are the World‘.”

The difference in message is subtle, but it’s there, right in the title.  While the U.K. asks if “They” know it’s Christmas, in typical American fashion the song was made to be all themselves.  We Are The World positions the issue as one that needs to include Americans for it to be in any way relatable, as if caring for others without including yourself is an impossible concept to grasp.

Musically, the song is as sappy as it gets.  While the U.K. single hits a beat and a rock rhythm in the first 50 seconds, it takes 2 minutes and 40 seconds for anything interesting to happen muscially in the American song when Michael Jackson comes in and brings the smallest bit of flavour.  Outside of Stevie Wonder at the 4:52 mark, there are very few shining moments in the song by the artists.  The song continues forever and you just. want. it. to. end.

Not that any of that stopped We Are The World from becoming a monster hit in its own right and, again, it’s not about the music but rather the intentions, entertainment value and outcomes that matter.

Have a look and, before we get to the last song on the list, when you watch this video pay particular attention to the style and clothing worn by the artists.

In my family, sandwiched right in the middle of these two Supergroup Band Aid Singles, was the Canadian venture into the territory – Tears Are Not Enough.

This song was on just as many mix tapes as Do They Know It’s Christmas and my parents were huge fans of it.  We heard it on the radio on CHUM Fm before we had seen the video and I remember sitting around the kitchen table with them as they guessed out loud who was singing which part of the song.

While we as a country had (and still do!) more than our fair share of music celebrity given our population, Bryan Adams and Neil Young were not on the same level as Michael Jackson and Bono.  I remember my parents even getting stumped and never having heard of some of the names involved in recording the track.

The song picks up at the 1:14 mark with the first introduction of the chorus and Bryan Adams is definitely the first voice to kick the song up a notch just prior to that.  The sweet and sappy sticks throughout the entire song, but somehow the choices of who sings which lines and the various musical stylings involved raise this song above We Are The World and keep things interesting from artist to artist and line to line.

If you remember the song and know it well enough, who among us doesn’t pretend we are Corey Hart for just a few seconds or, even better, at the song’s best moment, Geddy Lee.}

Hell, it’s even fun to fumble our way through the French verse.

I like how the group grows as well… as the song builds, so does the chorus group.

Comparing the message to the other two, it is typically Canadian.  Like America, we are more self-reflective than the U.K. version, but in an almost self-deprcaiting way.

“Don’t you know that Tears Are Not Enough?”

It gently scolds and plays up on our guilt – a uniquely Canadian perspective within this particular genre.

The video below is the best quality one on YouTube – at the bottom I’ve put a link to the original music video that included news footage and even a cameo from Wayne Gretsky.

Lastly, a quick comment on our style… remember what the Americans were wearing?  What the hell was up just a few miles North?  Why did Canadian celebrities in the 80’s dress like their parents did them up for school picture day?  It’s hilarious to watch and David Foster’s enthusiasm is easy to mock as well… lots to laugh at with this video but also lots to enjoy.

And that’s what I love about this genre of song – they are both bad and good at the same time.  At a time when our obsession with celebrity was at a more manageable level, these songs gave us a huge dose of what we craved: rich and famous people, working together, trying to do good and improve the living conditions for others who are less fortunate.

It’s the right time of year to revisit that notion and, through the lens of nostalgia and the cultural forgiveness that comes with it, be inspired again.

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Further Viewing – The original Tears Are Not Enough music video in full and a short doc around the making of the song that is also worth the watch.