Hear McCartney, Bon Jovi, Fergie Team for ‘Love Song to the Earth’
Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Fergie, Colbie Caillat and more have teamed up for “Love Song to the Earth,” an environmentally conscious track that’s part of a global campaign to raise awareness prior to the United Nations Climate Change Conference this December in Paris. The all-star collaboration has also released an earnest lyric video for the track highlighting how many marvels of the world are at risk if all of Earth’s citizens don’t work toward stemming climate change. “Keep it safe,” the artists implore on the chorus.
According to the song’s official website, “Every time the song is purchased, streamed, or shared, the royalties go directly towards the efforts of Friends of the Earth to keep fossil fuels in the ground and lower carbon emissions, and to the work of the U.N. Foundation to inspire international action on climate change.” Fans are also encouraged to sign a petition to “tell world leaders to stop debating and start taking action on climate change.”
“Love Song to the Earth” was penned by Toby Gad, John Shanks, Natasha Bedingfield and Sean Paul, with the latter two also appearing on the track alongside Leona Lewis, Goo Goo Dolls’ Johnny Rzeznik, Angelique Kidjo, Nicole Scherzinger, Kelsea Ballerini, Krewella, Victoria Justice, Christina Grimmie and Q’Orianka Kilcher.
“We wanted to create a song to unify voices in a positive uplifting chorus to support the world’s leaders as they gather in Paris this December,” Jerry Cope, the song’s executive director and co-director/producer of the video, tells Rolling Stone. “We wanted to finally forge a binding ambitious global climate treaty to address carbon emissions and anthropogenic [effects] that is resulting from human behavior climate change.”
The charity single is the latest effort as the Paris Climate Change Conference approaches. On December 4th, Thom Yorke, Patti Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea and Dhani Harrison will headline a Pathway to Paris concert in the city’s Le Trianon theater. The first Pathway to Paris concert took place in September 2014 in New York City with Thurston Moore and guitarist Lenny Kaye.
Earlier this year, Al Gore and Pharrell Williams announced their multi-city Live Earth: Road to Paris concerts to raise awareness for the upcoming Paris conference, but that June 18th event did not take place.
For Cope and others involved in the project, the goal of the song and video is straightforward. “Our hope is that people will listen to the song and enjoy the lyric video and go to Lovesongtotheearth.org and sign the petition which will be delivered at the opening of the climate conference in Paris this December,” Cope says. “As an American, I hope that this helps to rally our nation and once again we can lead the world in what is the most important challenge we face in the 21st-century.”