Original Pink Floyd members David Gilmour (second from left) and Nick Mason (second from right) teamed up with Nitin Sawhney (left) and Guy Pratt to record a new song dedicated to Ukraine. Photo: Pink Floyd
It seems trite to note that it’s taken a war to get a new Pink Floyd song out into the world. It’s been 28 years since the last original material issued forth in the form of the album The Division Bell.
This time it is one song, but one with an immeasurable moral dimension to it. ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ was written and recorded to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. Proceeds from the sale of the song go to the Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief.
David Gilmour and Nick Mason (the only two long-serving members of the band) are joined by Nitin Sawhney on keyboards (Rick Wright died in 2008) and bassist Guy Platt, replacing Roger Waters (who died for the others, figuratively, decades ago).
The song was inspired by Gilmour seeing a performance by Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk singing ‘The Red Viburnum in the Meadow’, a song from WWI, in a square in Kyiv.
In notes to the song on YouTube, it states that Gilmour has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren. The guitarist says: “We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world’s major powers.
“In 2015, I played a show at Koko in London in support of the Belarus Free Theatre, whose members have been imprisoned. Pussy Riot and the Ukrainian band, Boombox, were also on the bill. They were supposed to do their own set, but their singer Andriy had visa problems, so the rest of the band backed me for my set – we played ‘Wish You Were Here’ for Andriy that night.
“Recently I read that Andriy had left his American tour with Boombox, had gone back to Ukraine, and joined up with the Territorial Defence. Then I saw this incredible video on Instagram, where he stands in a square in Kyiv with this beautiful gold-domed church and sings in the silence of a city with no traffic or background noise because of the war. It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music.”
When he was creating the music, Gilmour spoke to the singer in Kyiv. He was recovering in hospital from a mortar injury. “I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing. We both hope to do something together in person in the future.”
Of the track itself, it merges Ukrainian folk and the distinctive progression of anthemic melody, uplifting, soul inspiring but with a 4/4 beat, trademark Floyd balladry and trademark Gilmour guitar solo. Of the latter, it could almost be the cousin of ‘Comfortably Numb’. Less modern-day angst and more suffering and survival in the bloodied earth.
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There’s more Floyd than Khlyvnyuk in the length of the song (those Gilmour solos aren’t just a short stroll in the park) but that is minor importance. The major point is giving voice to the people of Ukraine through the lone voice of a singer in a square in Kyiv.
Here Pink Floyd are the vehicle for the message and the messenger.
We are here. Don’t forget us.
And in music, there are no frontiers.
CODA: Roger Waters has posted a letter on YouTube from a woman in Ukraine about the war, to which Waters has replied. Waters calls Vladimir Putin a criminal and condemns the invasion. However, he also finds fault in the West’s supply of arms to Ukraine, saying diplomacy is the answer.
CODA 2: Julian Lennon has recorded his father’s classic ‘Imagine’ with Nuno Bettencourt for Stand Up For Ukraine. Lennon says: “The war on Ukraine is an unimaginable tragedy … As a human, and as an artist, I felt compelled to respond in the most significant way I could. So today, for the first time ever, I publicly performed my Dad’s song, ‘Imagine’. I had always said, that the only time I would ever consider singing ‘Imagine’ would be if it was the End of the World … But also because his lyrics reflect our collective desire for peace worldwide. Because within this song, we’re transported to a space, where love and togetherness become our reality, if but for a moment in time… The song reflects the light at the end of the tunnel, that we are all hoping for.
“As a result of the ongoing murderous violence, millions of innocent families have been forced to leave the comfort of their homes, to seek asylum elsewhere. I’m calling on world leaders and everyone who believes in the sentiment of ‘Imagine’, to stand up for refugees everywhere!”
CODA 3: Bono and The Edge of U2 have also recorded an acoustic song for Ukraine called ‘Walk On Ukraine’. Like Lennon’s, it is for #StandUpForUkraine. They say: “The brave people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom – and for ours – in the face of unspeakable violence and an unjust invasion. More than four million people, mostly women and children, have had to flee for their lives – a population nearly the size of Ireland. World leaders must stand up and stand by Ukrainians now … those who are fighting and those who have fled … and stand with refugees everywhere who have been forced from their homes and their lands.”
What will Putin make of all this? Nothing, of course. But the songs are not for him but for those he is waging war against. Therein lies the universal humanity.
