Sad But Important Song For Syrian Children

Alfie Jackson returns with a poignant ballad for Syrian child refugees in support of War Child.

Alfie was frontman of The Holloways - remember "Two Left Feet" and "Generator" - there were some sad and thoughtful songs in The Holloways repertoire - "Most Lonely Face" from "So This is Great Britain?" for example.

Now Alfie is back with his first offering as a solo artist - "The Last Holiday" is a song inspired by the tragic death of Alan Kurdi - the little boy on the beach in the red t-shirt, dead, face down in the sand. It's a sad, moving song with a powerful video featuring images of child refugees who should be helped and not forgotten.

Alfie has taken on the mission of contacting Alan's family, finding the right charity to donate profits from record sales and people are getting behind the cause and some are talking of beating X-Factor to the Christmas number one slot.

The song is rough around the edges and starts off seemingly innocent - as does the video - as the title suggests - it could be about a holiday; the lyrics are subtle and dreamy as is the vibe; but as the song progresses the realisation dawns on you that this is about something very sad. The music is simple but the melody of the guitar riff plays over in harmony with the lead vocal - it is fragile and haunting and Belle Humble's sweet voice adds a layer of extra emotion. The use of bongos and marimbas adds to the holiday and foreign angle of the song.

There are some touching lyrics - particularly the question we are left with regarding the humanity and reality of being caught up in a war zone - "what would you do if that was you between the devil and the deep blue sea" - the Kurdi family and many others chose the deep blue sea... this song wishes families to have a third choice. Well done Alfie. Music and the world needs songs like this.

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