Spotify uses 'Behind the Lyrics' feature to troll 'Do They Know it's Christmas'

With Christmas around the corner, online music streaming platform Spotify is mocking Band Aid's song Do They Know It's Christmas? based on lyrics about an Ethiopian famine. The song was released way back in 1984. According to reports, the song only mentions Africa but is a reaction to the famine that happened in Ethiopia that claimed the lives of more than one million people.

Spotify mocks Do They Know It's Christmas

Penned by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the song talks about the myths relating to the cause of the famine, giving suggestions that are happened because of a drought instead of a corrupt Ethiopian government using aid for personal agendas.

The tweet posted by Joanna Mang has been shared more than 12,000 times and has amassed more than 52,000 likes. One person said that nothing could describe her hatred for the song.

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Another person said that it was good to learn something on the online music streaming platform.

The controversial song was recorded thrice starting in the year 1989, then being re-recorded in 2004 and 2014. According to reports, 200 million pounds were raised that were donated towards the relief fund and that ultimately led the Live Aid concert in the year 1985 which raised a total of 150 million pounds. However, investigations revealed that the money ultimately ended up in the hands of then Ethiopian President Mengistu Haile Mariam and his authoritarian rule.

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MacGowan defends his song

Irish-English vocalist Shane MacGowan recently addressed the criticism surrounding the controversial lyrics of his 1987 Christmas song Fairytale of New York. According to reports, after complaints about the lyrics, a few radio stations have been playing out the edited version. Responding to the criticism, the Pogues said that he had been told that the lyrics were insulting to queer people, adding that he did not understand how it insulted them. He further added that the band also did not think in that way.

MacGowan said that he did not have a problem if radio stations played an edited version of his song, adding that the much-criticised word "f****t" was used by the character in the song because it complimented the way she spoke. He further added that the character was created to not be a nice person in the song. The songwriter said that the character belonged to a particular generation at a certain time in history.

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(With inputs from agencies)