Barbra Streisand graced the stage of the 2001 Emmy Awards to sing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ballad “You’ll Never Walk Alone” following the 9/11 tragedy. Nearly two decades later, she lent her soaring vocals again to the same song, but for the coronavirus pandemic.
“I sang this song almost 20 years ago after 9/11. Today we face another crisis, but I think the words still apply. With love and gratitude, Barbra,” she penned at the beginning of her YouTube montage video from today (May 5). While her hopeful anthem plays in the background, she threads together heart-breaking yet crucial images of medical workers with red indents on their face from their N95 masks to those on the frontlines protesting for more personal protective equipment (PPE) with signs that say “We are at war. We need our armour to win!!”
The 78-year-old superstar also intersperses archival footage of her 2001 Emmys performance before a soothing video of burning candles shines a light on the information for Direct Relief, a non-profit organization which “supplies protective gear to all our heroes in the United States,” Streisand writes as her final message before encouraging viewers to donate.
Watch Streisand’s new video for “You’ll Never Walk Alone” dedicated to COVID-19 first responders below, and donate to Direct Relief here.
