A few months ago we were sent a video tribute that aimed to highlight the plight of Schapelle Corby, the Queenslander currently serving 20 years in a Bali prison for smuggling 4.2kg of marijuana into the country. After we posted the video we were accused of "being cruel". Probably because after we calmed down,
we said: "Sweet Baby Jesus this is a godawful song."
Now a second video has come in to being. So in the interest of steely-eyed journalism, here are the bald facts:
- 20 year old New York singer Tara Hack has recorded a protest song "in the form of a personal appeal to Kevin Rudd". The song is called 'The Wizard Down Under'
.
- According to YouTube:
"This has since become the international protest anthem for Schapelle. In fact, it is the sound track for the global protest in support of her: which spans the globe."
- This isn't the first "Free Schapelle" tune penned by Hack. That was 'Saya Tidak Bersalah', which according to
tarahack.com: "now has hundreds of thousands of internet plays across the word, and is widely acclaimed as a landmark production. Its impact has been immense.This video tells the story as it really is, about a real person, an innocent struggling to survive every day of every week of every year. It tells the harrowing story of the victim of injustice, indifference, corruption and cruelty."
- Schapelle Corby herself "unleashes an anguished cry for help" at the end of 'The Wizard Down Under'.
- The lyrics to the chorus are:
So lets all go see the wizard
Down under in OZ
And tell Kevin Rudd
That we've got a cause
Do you know Schapelle Corby
Well she's from OZ, too
John Howard was a coward
Now its all up to you
It cries out to Indonesia:
Listen up Indonesia
The free wind can change fast
Before you look to your future
You need to clean up your past
When the people came together
The Berlin wall fell down
So Power to the people
Free Schapelle Corby NOW!
We now present, 'The Wizard Down Under':
Tara Hack - 'The Wizard Down Under'
- As a
Music Editor, I feel reasonably comfortable in saying...this song is atrocious.