The video for “Hey Hey Rise Up”, Pink Floyd’s new song supporting Ukraine, has been viewed over 450,000 times on YouTube.
The song, which was released on Friday, features the vocals of Andriy Khlyvnyuk, who is part of Ukrainian band Boombox. Proceeds from the song will go to support Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief, the band announced on Twitter. It’s the latest example of high-profile celebrities working to support Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
As of Saturday afternoon, less than two days after the song’s release, the video has had 458,759 views on YouTube. The song has been streamed thousands of times on Spotify and reached number one on iTunes in 29 countries.
2/3 Gilmour, who has a daughter-in-law and grandchildren from Ukraine: “Like so many others, we have felt the fury and frustration at this despicable act of an independent, peaceful democratic country overrunning and murdering its people by one of the world’s great powers”.
— PinkFloyd (@pinkfloyd) April 7, 2022
“Like so many others, we have felt the fury and frustration of this despicable act of an independent and peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world’s major powers,” the group wrote on Twitter.
VESA MOILANEN/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images
In the song, the band sings a Ukrainian protest tune written during World War I.
“Oh, in the meadow a red viburnum stooped / For some reason our glorious Ukraine is in mourning / And we’ll take that red viburnum and we’ll raise it up,” the band sings.
In the comments section of the video, nearly 2,000 listeners shared their praise for the song, which is Pink Floyd’s first single since 2014, when the band released a song recorded in the 1990s. first song the band has recorded since 1994.
“Absolutely breathtaking! I am proud of the attitude of Pink Floyd! Very beautiful, I cried with emotion. I share the link on my social networks. Stop the war and long live Ukraine!” read the top comment, posted by musician James Marçal.
Another listener, Paulo Santos, wrote: “Pink Floyd, the best band ever, here with a fantastic and moving vocalization. All respect to the brave Ukrainians. Love from Portugal and the United Kingdom.”
“We all want peace in Ukraine, not war, the war is over. Congratulations on the song and the beautiful message of peace, Masters David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Guy Pratt,” YouTube user Felipe Gilmour wrote.
After the invasion, Khlyvnyuk cut short his tour of the United States to return to Ukraine and join a territorial defense unit – as thousands of Ukrainian men returned from abroad to fight in the war – according to the video.
Many celebrities have made efforts to support Ukraine, donating millions of dollars to pro-Ukrainian causes. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch said he would even open his house to Ukrainian refugees.
Newsweek contacted the management of David Gilmour, the band’s guitarist, for comment.
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