SINGER-songwriter and former Australian Idol winner Wes Carr has penned a heartfelt song about the Sydney siege, just hours after its dramatic and bloody conclusion.
Carr, who won the sixth season of Australian Idol in 2008, uploaded a video of himself performing the song onto his Facebook page today.
Titled I Pray, the track is a simple guitar ballad with stark lyrics relating to the siege, including a chorus that runs: “And I pray for the 15 people that were locked in that cafe, for their families and for change, for that gunman who was lead astray, by his own fear, evil and hate.â€
“This has nothing to do with religion, it’s one man’s madness and confusion. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Buddhist, atheist or Muslim, we are all ONE type of human,†the lyrics continue.
“Today I have so many questions, so much on my mind. I woke with a feeling of confusion, uneasiness,†Carr wrote in a post accompanying the video.
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“Right now I’m meant to be rehearsing for my up and coming show about George Harrison, but I had something bottled up inside of my heart, I couldn’t ignore the feeling and then this song just poured out of me. In everything that has happened over the last 24 hours I pray we can learn from this and come together as a people no matter what and who we are. If you can’t find love right now, try to at least find hope instead of anger!â€
Fans have praised the song’s lyrics as “beautiful†and “heartfeltâ€, so far sharing the video more than 1600 times on Facebook.
Carr is one of many in the entertainment industry whose thoughts have been with the victims of the siege, with celebrities at home and abroad sending their condolences and messages of support.