In Crisis: Travel Retail Voices: Jeff Orson sings ‘Pray’ – a joint Moodie Davitt fundraiser for the UN COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund : Moodie Davitt Report

INTERNATIONAL. The Moodie Davitt Report today proudly releases a fund-raising song themed around the global COVID-19 pandemic, in association with Canadian duty free executive and professional singer-songwriter Jeff Orson, National Director – Duty Free for PMA.

‘Pray’ is released today via North America online music company Bandcamp, which allows listeners to buy (or gift) the track by making a payment of their own choice (anything from C$1 upwards). Please click this link to buy (https://lnkd.in/gMsK2jF) or gift it (you can leave a personalised message) to someone you care about who you might not see for a while.

For a brilliant YouTube video of Jeff recording the song, please click here. To contact Jeff Orson: https://www.facebook.com/jefforson1 or email him at jorson@pmacanada.com

[Click on the icon to hear Jeff Orson talk to Martin Moodie about Pray]

All funds raised (minus any Canadian government taxes) are being donated to the newly established UN COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie has personally funded the recording costs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading and coordinating the global effort, supporting countries to prevent, detect, and respond to the pandemic. People and companies in the travel retail and aviation communities who want to help fight the pandemic and support WHO and its partners can now donate to the COVID-Solidarity Response Fund by buying the Jeff Orson song ‘Pray’.

The song came about after Moodie tried (and failed miserably -Ed) to write an appropriate song and have his long-time industry friend (and fellow cancer survivor) Jeff Orson record it. Instead, as Jeff explains, he put his mind to creating a powerful original tune that starkly portrays the threat facing humanity but builds to an ultimately uplifting finish.

Jeff Orson: Singer, songwriter, survivor

“So in the middle of those long, long nights I returned to music. I didn’t know whether I was going to live or die, and I started writing music to try to make some sense of it.”

Read more from The Moodie Blog.

Talking to The Moodie Davitt Report Podcast series In Crisis – Travel Retail Voices, Jeff said: “We’ve got this song set up on Bandcamp (and you can watch the video on YouTube as well) so you can go in and download the song. The minimum charge is C$1 but you can donate anything you want – if you want to pay C$10, C$100 or whatever it might be, we’re going to take that money and send it to the UN COVID-19 charity fund. All the proceeds received from anything on Bandcamp will be donated.”

Jeff also talks movingly about his successful fight with colon cancer six years ago, an experience that inspired him to take up music seriously. “As I was lying in my hospital bed wondering if I was going to live or die, I started to write some music again and play some songs,” he recalls. “I picked up a guitar and one thing led to another on the radio and playing all over the world.”

Pray – Lyrics and music by Jeff Orson

Thought I’d seen it all before, a world of trouble knocking at my door
But this ain’t like nothing that I recall
Lived through fires and mighty storms, witnessed a couple of bloody wars
Seen the best and worst in all of us, once again in god we trust

(Chorus)

Cos there ain’t no one to blame, and we’re all in this just the same
There are no sins, or mistakes to excuse
Isolated from my friends, hope I see ’em all when this ends
We’re gonna need a miracle of faith to pull us through
Cos there’s only so much prayin’ you can do

There’s something that’s goin’ round, that’s shutting our borders down
It’s a bad time for our sick and our old
CNN’s nightly lullaby, tells of hundreds more that’ve died
I shut off the TV and think all alone, how long can this go on?

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

And I swear one day, we’re gonna put this all behind us
Come what may, we will survive
I think it safe to say, that better times are gonna find us,
Hope it won’t be long, til this trouble is gone

(Chorus & Outro)

Previously on In Crisis – Travel Retail Voices

27 March: Paul & Shark Global Travel Retail Director Catherine Bonelli

26 March: King Power Traveler President Rakhita Jayawardena

[Click on the icon to hear Rakhita Jayawardena’s interview with Martin Moodie]

25 March: Public health expert Dr. David Heymann

[Click on the icon to hear an edited summary of a phone-in audience discussion with Dr David Heymann on COVID-19 and its impact on travel retail]

24 March: King Power Group (Hong Kong) Group Chief Executive Officer Sunil Tuli

[Click on the icon to hear Sunil Tuli’s interview with Martin Moodie]

22 March: The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie

[Click on the icon to hear In Crisis – Travel Retail Voices, Martin Moodie]

21 March: China Duty Free Group President Charles Chen

[Click on the icon to hear Charles Chen’s interview with Martin Moodie]

20 March: Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO Colm McLoughlin

[Click on the icon to hear Colm McLoughlin’s interview with Martin Moodie]

Click here for details of the 30-second ‘Clap for our Carers – Travel Retail ’ global initiative on Tuesday 31 March (#ClapforourCarersTravelRetail)

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