Jon Bon Jovi needs your help. Like the rest of us, he’s at home amid the coronavirus lockdown, but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped working on new music. In fact, he wants you to help him. The legendary Bon Jovi singer posted a video on Sunday (March 22) in which he acknowledged that these are hard times, but maybe a song can help get us through.
“These are trying times we’re going through: uncharted territory, the great unknown. But one thing is for sure, we’re going to make it through. I did what I do best which was to sit down with my guitar and try to put something in words for you, maybe to brighten up your day,” Bon Jovi said.
“Here’s my idea: We write this one together. I’m going to give you the chorus and the first verse. I’m going to play the second verse, but you tell me your story. Tell me what you’re going through. Tell me how you’re feeling. Tell me if you’re hurting.“
Bon Jovi offered up some topics: the high school graduation and prom that’s probably not happening, the baby you have on the way, the paycheck that isn’t coming, or just being afraid. “Looking out your window and wondering what to make of all this. Just remember, we’re going to get through it. So sing your song, you and me together, and remember when you can’t do what you do, you do what you can,” he said.
The song, called “Do What You Can,” features the lyrics: “Tonight they’re shutting down the borders/ And they boarded up the schools/ Small towns are rolling up their sidewalks/ One last paycheck coming through/ I know you’re feeling kind of nervous/ We’re all a little bit confused/ Nothing’s the same, this ain’t a game/ We got to make it through/ When you can’t do what you do/ You do what you can.”
Fans are encourage to post their lyrical ideas to Bon Jovi’s FB page. Bon Jovi’s new album, Bon Jovi 2020, is due out on May 15.
The COVID-19 pandemic came home for Bon Jovi over the weekend when the band’s founding keyboardist David Bryan announced that he’d tested positive for the novel coronavirus. “I just got my results back today and tested positive for corona virus,” Bryan wrote on Instagram on Saturday (March 21). “I’ve been sick for a week and feeling better each day.”
That same night, Jon Bon shouted out Chicago fans who held an at-home “Livin’ on a Prayer” sing-along from their windows as the state’s mandatory stay-at-home order kicked in. The singer applauded the effort, saying in a video, “In these trying times I am with you with all my heart and soul… Sing it out, baby, we’re all going to come through this together. Be Strong.”
Watch Bon Jovi’s lyric song request and the “Livin'” sing-along below.
48