By: Emily Maybanks
Irish trio The Script have recently released the second single from their most recent album Freedom Child – Arms Open – the music video to the single premiered on Facebook on 1st December 2017. Arms Open is an emotional song, full of empathy and extremely heartfelt lyrics. The story behind the music video for this song adds a whole new dimension to it.
A Sense of Home is an American charity and Arms Open features real-life stories from people who have benefited from the charity. Indeed, The Script’s post on Facebook when they first shared this video stated: “for us, this is more than just a music video and we’d like to share the positive change A Sense of Home have brought into people’s lives and support them with the message of our song. This charity is small, but with a big solution that we hope will reach across the World, to help people everywhere.” The video includes some harrowing footage. I believe that the only way to really get a sense of the intensity of the video and how well the lyrics and the music fit to the stories in the video is simply to watch it (with a box of tissues close by).
A lot of The Script’s music and accompanying videos aim to inspire and bring some positivity into the World. Hall of Fame – their duet with Will.I.Am is a brilliant example taken from their third album #3; If You Could See Me Now brings comfort to those who have experienced the devastating loss of a loved one, and Superheroes from No Sound Without Silence gives listeners a sense of strength. Arms Open takes it to the next level, in my opinion. It’s powerful.
The single and the video come at an important time of the year. Even though the music video is used to promote an American charity which aspires to “inspire former foster youth to be as successful as their new environment and become the best versions of themselves” and “eradicate a layer of poverty from which former foster youth can most likely never climb out of” among a variety of other aims, the message certainly rings true for the UK and indeed the rest of the World, where homelessness is – sadly – a common issue. There are charities in the UK which help those in the foster care system, such as Barnardo’s; there are also charities which specifically help homeless people, such as Crisis, and Centrepoint. The winter time and the run up to Christmas can make it very easy to forget that there are people out there who don’t have a stable, loving family home, there are people who don’t even have a place they can call home and Christmas is a devastating time for these people. Having somewhere or someone they can turn to is necessary for these people, which is why the work of such charities is vital. The fact that music artists and bands can use their music, their lyrics and their videos to promote the work of charities and the stories behind them is incredible. Using music as a platform to give people a voice is fantastic, and using music to raise awareness for important causes is equally as brilliant.
Watching the video to and listening to Arms Open will without a doubt make you think about how challenging it is for young people who don’t have a home. It is one of the most emotionally powerful videos that I have ever watched. As a huge fan of The Script and their music, this video blew me away. The song fits the message behind the video perfectly.
To watch and listen to Arms Open, click here.
