Yesterday morning (April 17), Dave Matthews was featured on CNN's State Of The Union to share a song in support of refugees from Ukraine and the world, titled, "Something To Tell My Baby". Before he started playing he spoke with host Jake Tapper, who was in Kyiv to interview the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Matthews said to Tapper and viewers, "It’s just unfathomable to those of us who are far from it, but it’s not only happening [in Ukraine]. It’s happening in Yemen. It’s happening in Myanmar. It’s happening in Nigeria. It’s happening in Afghanistan, It’s happening in so many places where people are just trying to survive and it’s violence that’s not allowing them to—and terrible violence." He continued to say, "And so many of us are part of this chorus of people that are hoping we can somehow turn the tide, and so I thought I would just join in and as many ways as possible raise people’s awareness.”
Matthews then seamlessly started the song accompanied by a string section comprised of cello, viola and violin. The song, which was debuted on Feb. 20 with Tim Reynolds at Riviera Maya in Cancún, Mexico, was presented with interspersed images of refugees and live footage of Matthews' ensemble.
The stilling and emotive call for empathy, hope and awareness began: “You know someday we’re all gonna leave here / Maybe sooner than we wanted,” the bows drawn over strings and Matthews' tenor croonings led the song to the anaphoric musings “Something that will remind them / Something to make them smile when they think about it / Something to tell my baby.”
After the performance, Matthews brought a few organizations up to help alleviate the suffering of the people of the world including the International Rescue Committee and World Central Kitchen. The segment closed with Matthews saying, "Everybody, do what you can. And let's take care of each other, 'cause what's the point otherwise?"
Watch Dave Matthews’ perform “Something To Tell My Baby” on CNN’s State of the Union below, and donate in support of Ukraine refugees here.
