The Together for Palestine fund is trying to get a Palestinian lullaby to Christmas No 1 in the UK charts in an effort to help provide aid to the people of Gaza, but also showcase their culture and creativity.
The musician Brian Eno, who performs on the track, said Lullaby, which will be released on Friday, is a chance to support Palestinians over Christmas and potentially stage an unlikely coup by getting to No 1.
“It would be fantastic if that happened, yes,” he said. “I’m not gonna be completely disappointed if it doesn’t, Christmas singles are a thing unto themselves.”
The Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti said the song – which she performs on and is an adaptation of a Palestinian lullaby called Yamma Mwel El Hawa – carries a defiant message about demanding dignity.
“It has a very special place for a lot of people,” Barghouti said. “It’s basically saying that I would rather die in dignity than live a life without freedom. That’s the main theme of the song, we want to live a dignified life that we deserve as Palestinians, where we can share the beauty of our identity.”
The song was recorded after the Together for Palestine concert, held at Wembley Arena in September. It was originally supposed to be played and recorded live at the concert, but because the show – which featured 69 artists, speakers and activists and lasted for four hours – was overrunning, the performance had to be cut.
Artists who appear on Lullaby include Eno, Celeste, Dan Smith from Bastille, Lana Lubany, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, the London Community Gospel Choir, Mabel, Nadine Shah and Neneh Cherry – all of whom performed at the concert, which raised £2m.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Damon Albarn were among the performers and speakers at the concert, which was partly inspired by a 1988 Wembley Stadium event that celebrated the 70th birthday of Nelson Mandela.
Lullaby is produced by the composer Kieran Brunt, Benji B and Henri Davies and features a mix of the original Arabic with English lyrics written by Peter Gabriel.
Together for Palestine wants to raise as much as possible for a fund, which will be distributed to Palestinian causes via the Choose Love charity.
“We don’t have a target,” he said. “We’ll go for whatever we can get. But obviously the more the merrier. It all goes out to Gaza.
“There’s so much that has been wasted and destroyed there. Apart from lives lost, 92% of property is either destroyed or seriously damaged.
“In that context, a few million quid doesn’t make that much difference. But I think what does make a difference is first of all making this cause better known and showing there’s another side to the story. Palestinian people have said to me that it means so much to them that somebody cares about them.”
Lullaby is released on Friday and a recording of the Together for Palestine concert will be available to stream on YouTube from 19 December.
