Song Lyrics:
My friend came to me
With sadness in his eyes
He told me that he wanted help
Before his country dies
Although I couldn’t feel the pain
I knew I had to try
Now I’m asking all of you
To help us save some lives
Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Where so many people are dying fast
And it sure looks like a mess
I’ve never seen such distress
Now won’t you lend your hand and understand?
Relieve the people of Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Such a great disaster, I don’t understand
But it sure looks like a mess
I’ve never known such distress
Now please don’t turn away
I want to hear you say
Relieve the people of Bangladesh
Relieve Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Now it may seem so far from where we all are
It’s something we can’t neglect
It’s something I can’t neglect
Now won’t you give some bread to get the starving fed?
We’ve got to relieve Bangladesh
Relieve the people of Bangladesh
We’ve got to relieve Bangladesh
Relieve the people of Bangladesh
The reverse of the US picture sleeve for “Bangla Desh”: a confronting UPI image that was also used in print advertisements for the single.
The event was the first-ever benefit of such a magnitude, and featured a supergroup of performers that included Harrison, fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and the band Badfinger. In addition, Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan – both of whom had ancestral roots in Bangladesh – performed an opening set of Indian classical music. The concerts were attended by a total of 40,000 people, and the initial gate receipts raised close to $250,000 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF.
After collecting the musicians easily, Harrison found it extremely difficult to get the recording industry to release the rights for performers to share the stage, and millions of dollars raised from the album and film were tied up in IRS tax escrow accounts for years, but the Concert for Bangladesh is recognised as a highly successful and influential humanitarian aid project, generating both awareness and considerable funds as well as providing valuable lessons and inspiration for projects that followed, such as Live Aid.
By 1985, through revenue raised from the Concert for Bangladesh live album and film, an estimated $12 million had been sent to Bangladesh, and sales of the live album and DVD release of the film continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF. Decades later, Shankar would say of the overwhelming success of the event: “In one day, the whole world knew the name of Bangladesh. It was a fantastic occasion.”
