Bon Jovi continue to reflect on this moment in history on the band’s new song “Do What You Can,” a track about the coronavirus pandemic from their upcoming album Bon Jovi 2020.
“I am a witness to history,” Jon Bon Jovi said of the song in a statement. “I believe the greatest gift of an artist is the ability to use their voice to speak to issues that move us.”
Bon Jovi previously debuted “Do What You Can” acoustically during the Jersey4Jersey benefit special, with the rest of the band later adding instrumentation from their respective quarantines; on the song, Bon Jovi and company examine America during the pandemic.
“As we wave outside the window/Older loved ones stay inside/Moms and babies blowing kisses/Maybe saving someone’s life,” Bon Jovi sings. “They had to cancel graduation/It ain’t fair to Skype the prom/Our kids sit home in isolation/TV news is always on.”
The song’s title first popped up as a caption in an Instagram photo — “If You Can’t Do What You Do… Do What You Can” — where Jon Bon Jovi was shown washing dishes at his JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, New Jersey, which provided food to those in need at the onset of the pandemic.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B960Cd0hCCw/?utm_source=ig_embed
With that caption providing inspiration, Jon Bon Jovi set out to write the song about the COVID-19 response, with the singer asking fans to contribute their own verses via a #DoWhatYouCan hashtag.
Bon Jovi previously released the protest anthem “American Reckoning” — inspired by the George Floyd protests — from the album, now due out October 2nd after it was postponed from its May release date due to the pandemic. Bon Jovi 2020 is available to preorder now.
