Don't Give Up (Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush song)
"Don't Give Up" is a song written by English musician Peter Gabriel and recorded as a duet with Kate Bush for Gabriel's fifth solo studio album "So" (1986). The single version was released as the second single from the album in the UK in 1986 and as the fifth single in the US in 1987. It spent eleven weeks in the UK Top 75 chart in 1986, peaking at number nine. The song was included in Gabriel's Secret World Live tour featuring singer Paula Cole. The DVD  release of a performance in Italy in 1993 (released in 1994) included the duet. An all-orchestral recording featuring Ane Brun was released on Gabriel's "New Blood" album in 2011. Background. The song was inspired by the Depression-era photographs of Dorothea Lange, showing poverty-stricken Americans in Dust Bowl conditions. Gabriel saw Lange's images in a 1973 book titled "In This Proud Land". He felt that a song based on this was wholly appropriate to difficult economic conditions in England under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. He composed lyrics about a man whose unemployment causes stress in  his domestic relationship. The verses, sung by Gabriel, describe the man's feelings of isolation, loneliness and despair; the choruses, sung by Bush, offer words of hope and encouragement. Gabriel originally wrote the song from a reference point of American roots music and he approached country singer Dolly Parton to sing it with him. However, Parton turned it down, so his friend Kate Bush took her place. Track listing. All songs written by Peter Gabriel. Videos. Two videos were created for the song. The first, by Godley & Creme, is a single take of Gabriel and Bush, as they sing, in  an embrace, while the sun behind them enters a total eclipse and re-emerges. (Of the shoot, Gabriel remarked, "There are worse ways of earning a living.") The video was featured the final broadcast of the channel Europa TV in November 1986. A second video, directed by Grammy award-winning Jim Blashfield and produced by Melissa Marsland in 1988, features the singer's faces superimposed over film of a town and its people in disrepair. Other versions. Willie Nelson and Sinéad O'Connor version. The song was covered as a duet between American musician Willie Nelson & Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor in  1993. The single is included on Nelson's "Across the Borderline" album, produced by Don Was, Paul Simon, and Roy Halee. O'Connor sings Kate Bush's parts in the song. In an interview with "Los Angeles Times", Nelson talked about the duet and how it was made. He said: A music video was made to accompany the song, featuring both singers. It has a sepia tone. It was reported that funds raised by sales of the single were in excess of $300,000. Critical reception. Martin Monkman from AllMusic stated that it is "the most stunning song on the album , and a brilliant piece of casting." He added, "Nelson and O'Connor's rendition is quietly triumphant and every bit as powerful as Gabriel and Bush's original." Bill DeYoung from "Gainesville Sun" described the duet as "heartfelt". Paul Freeman from "Los Angeles Times" called it "a striking duet". Music & Media commented that Nelson's version "makes a rodeo queen out of his duet partner Sinead O'Connor." "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" noted that Nelson and O'Connor "make an odd but effective couple on Peter Gabriel's emotional "Don't Give Up"." Alicia Keys and Bono version. "Don't Give Up" was recorded  by American recording artist Alicia Keys and Irish musician Bono. Retitled "Don't Give Up (Africa)", the song was produced by Keys and Steve Lillywhite. On 6 December 2005, the song was released as a single exclusively on iTunes and a ringtone version was released by Cingular Wireless. The proceeds of the release went to the charity Keep a Child Alive, for which Keys is a spokesperson. Keys commented that "I love this song. And I love Bono. I really respect what he has done for Africa and how he has used his fame to do good in the world . I hope I can do half as much in my life". Keys and Bono performed the song live at Keys' charity event the Black Ball, which raises money for the organization Keep A Child Alive. They performed the song also on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in October 2006. The recording of the song took place at the Oven Studios on Long Island. Keys spoke of the recording session at the studio with Bono and Steve Lillywhite: Jann Klose and Annie Haslam version. Jann Klose and Renaissance vocalist and painter Annie Haslam released their version, produced by Rave Tesar in June  2017. The recording features Jann Klose on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Annie Haslam on lead vocals, John Arbo on upright bass, Rob Mitzner on cajon and Rave Tesar on keys. Proceeds from the sale of the recording benefit Desmond Tutu's TutuDesk foundation. Shannon Noll and Natalie Bassingthwaighte version. A cover version was recorded by Australian artist Shannon Noll and former Rogue Traders frontwoman Natalie Bassingthwaighte. It was produced by Michael "fingaz" Mugisha who also produced hits for Jessica Mauboy, Big Brovaz and recorded for the compilation "". It was released as a charity single for the depression organisation beyondblue . It was the most added song to Australian radio in its first week. It made its debut at number seven on the Australian Singles Chart, and, in its second week, climbed to number two with a Platinum certification. The song was also performed live on the fifth season of "Dancing with the Stars". The music video features Noll and Bassingthwaighte in the studio recording the single. Charts. Weekly charts Year-end charts Others. Maire Brennan and Michael McDonald recorded a gender-reversed version of the song on the 1999 Contemporary Christian album Streams. Don't Give Up (Peter Gabriel and