Once I dug a little deeper, I found how this track is different.  It wasn’t merely a collaboration between different artists… many different artists.  It was recorded and released to benefit famine relief in Ethiopia.  The execution of any one project is never perfect; there are always glitches and gotchas.  Though one thing is certainly true, the intentions behind this project were noble.

Other artists release Christmas albums to certainly please fans, but also to get more money.  They record individual renditions of existing, familiar Christmas tunes.  This is not that; this was strictly to benefit this cause.  This was an original tune written specifically for this cause.  This embodies the Christmas spirit of giving.

As I listened to the song, I could hear distinctive voices from Paul Young, Boy George, George Michael, Simon Le Bon, Bono and Sting; they happily contributed to the recording even if only one verse.  There were also many others who simply contributed to the chorus, but all seemed happy to simply participate.  You can even see in the occasional shot of Phil Collins playing the drums, though his voice is not distinctive in the song.  It amazed me that so many artists, each established in their own right, put their egos aside to work together.  They understood; the cause was greater than their egos.

Watching the video was equally interesting.  The vast majority of videos of the era landed in two categories.  First, they were mini movies, much like A-ha’s famous video for ‘Take On Me’; these told a narrative set to the music.  Duran Duran was famous for doing videos like these.  Second, there were recorded concert clips; all Journey videos off the Escape album were like this.  There were some that were a combination of the two, with a story interspersed with occasional glimpses of band members playing their instruments.

The video for this song was none of those.  It was an account, a documentary, of the recording event.  It was honest in its description and its interaction between artists.  They performed emotionally in front of the mic, sometimes they stood individually as they bellowed their voices, other times they stood shoulder to shoulder with other equally impressive artists but did so humbly.  Occasionally, you may get a glimpse of a musician exiting a vehicle to approach the studio.  And in the end, you see them all collectively singing the chorus as the song ends, each knowing that they were part of something greater.

As I learned more about the event, I found that it was a marathon recording session.  Musicians, the recording studio, and even the ones who edited the video volunteered their time and resources to make this happen.  The recording was all contained in 24 hours.  I can’t schedule coffee with friends without getting into scheduling conflicts, yet all these people, with great demands on their time, and spanning the globe, made a point to congregate here…  all in a recording studio in Notting Hill, London on the same day to make this happen.

The idea was the brainchild of Bob Geldof, of the Boomtown Rats.  After watching the news about the famine in Ethiopia, he decided that he should do something.  He dared to think differently.  You may think that you’re a musician, and that you can’t do anything to address the famine that occurs in a distant land.  He disproved that notion.  He demonstrated how one person, with a little ingenuity, a lot of heart, and sheer willpower, can affect change.  Not only that, but he inspired others to see that vision.

We have all been sleepwalking in the routine of our respective worlds.  We traverse through it like zombies with guardrails that stipulate how we should behave.  It is inspiring to see that occasionally someone will venture outside of their place to show us something different.  If only for a moment, we can get a sliver of how we can collectively be better people.

And that is why this is my favorite Christmas song.