Charlie Winston releases Say Something

I’ve always been interested and concerned about the topic of migration and how it is perceived and received by the world. Many countries, mostly prospering, have a lot of closed doors and fears that our cultures and economies will be sacrificed by opening our hearts and minds to refugees, forgetting that, originally, many of us come from other countries. When I lived like a hobo, travelling with a guitar on my back through Europe, I met a lot of people without papers, which inspired songs and videos like ‘In Your Hands’.

This year, the subject of migration and refugees came to the world's full attention, when the body of Alan Kurdi, the little boy, was washed up on the beach. I had already been thinking about ways to say something in the video for this song. As a public figure, I really wanted to use my voice to help shine a brighter light on what’s going on and will continue to go on for years, unless we confront it with integrity, compassion and kindness. In our comfortable societies, it’s too easy to stand back and turn a blind eye to people’s uninvited, unimaginable suffering and loss. Integrity, compassion and kindness are three qualities which we as humans crave. I want to play my role as an artist, while somehow exercising those qualities for others.