So far as I know, the only song performed at the Hope For Haiti Now telethon that was written specifically for the event was ‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour).’ It also boasted the star-studded night’s star-studdiest lineup, with Jay-Z joined by Rihanna and U2’s Bono and The Edge.
Now there’s a collection of people I never would have guessed I’d see on the same stage. Rihanna and Jay-Z have been frequent collaborators, of course, but U2 has never been mistaken for a rap act (despite The Edge’s spoken-word vocal performance of ‘Numb‘).
I don’t want to give the impression that this was some sort of groundbreaking collaboration. Bono and Rihanna basically just sang the chorus in between Jay-Z’s rapped verses. This is the sort of thing that’s gone on in rap songs pretty much since they were invented — think Elton John singing the Dido part of ‘Stan’ with Eminem at the Grammys. I’d like to see Bono and Rihanna actually rapping alongside Jay-Z. Of course they’d probably suck at that about as hard as Jay-Z would suck at singing.
When the sky falls and the Earth quakes
We gon put this back together
We won’t break
[repeat]
[Jay-Z]
Sak Pase, my Port-Au-Princes
my Haitian Gods and all of my Princesses
Our condolences as you fightin’ against this
we’re right by your side while we tryin’ to make sense of this
heavenly father help us see through these problems
and for those that’s left, accept them into your garden
so here’s my theory, the country’s already starvin’
so we sacrificed many to shed light on all of them
God please pardon, I speak from the heart
its the only way I see this tragedy befall on them
so lets get involved with them, hand to hand with them
arm to arm with them til they get strong again,
When the sky falls…
(Rihanna and Bono – hook)
Can’t wait until tomorrow
Haiti a Mi Amor
Haiti, Mon Amour
Not gonna leave you stranded, alone, alone
oh no
[Chorus]
[Jay-Z Verse 2]
Learn from the past, New Orleans was flooded
So we know we just can’t rely on the government
We under the rubble again, here we go rumbling when
When we gon catch a break, my friend lost his mother and then
And then, Carline lost her uncles and them
Buried with no caskets, they just put covers on them
And the tears fall, and we fight back
Story ain’t done, it can’t end like that
Nah not like this, tomorrow’s survivors gonna carry on your name
You live on inside us, your memory’s alive with us
You inspired us, to rebuild this country, you just guide us
[Hook]
[Bono & Rihanna]
It’s not the angels that are on their way
its not the bells of Santa Trinite
the people waiting in positions vacant
for hands to help not just to pray
[Hook]
[French singing]
Haïti va s’élever
Tu vas te relever
Nous nous éléverons
Ensemble ensemble ensemble
(not gonna leave you stranded…)
[Jay-Z]
we gon put this back together we wont break
we gon put this back together we wont break
we gon put this back together we wont break
we gon put this back together we wont break
Meet Me In Montauk 
This was one of the performances I liked best. I don’t know that I’d ever really heard or seen Jay Z “in action” before this performance, so suddenly I was able to “get” what a big deal he is. Very impressive. I could have done without Bono; otherwise, this was great.
I was also impressed by this performance and “got” Jay Z in a way I had not before.
I don’t know if I “got” Jay-Z because of this, but it was a nice song with a clear message. Sometimes it just needs to be that transparent. 🙂