Sinéad O’Connor’s Duet with Willie Nelson: The Backstory

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Sinéad was being excoriated in the press following her protest on Saturday Night Live when she made her appearance 13 days later on the stage of the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 16, 1992. The reception she received was nothing like she expected—she was viciously booed off the stage. Sadly, neither Dylan himself nor any of the all-star performers , except for Kris Kristofferson, came to her aid. However,  his best friend, Willie Nelson, who was also one of the performers, was just as upset with the way Sinéad  was treated. So, he invited her to join him in the studio the next day. The song they recorded, "Don't Give Up," was released on his 1993 album, Across the Borderline.  (The song, a cover of Peter Gabriel’s original 1986 version.) This music video is poignantly moving. At the beginning, you hear Sinéad's very fragile voice, almost failing with emotion, as if her heart has just been broken. However, as the song grows towards crescendo, the defiant power that we have come to know and love returns to her voice. By the time she joins Willie for the bridge, you hear the deep conviction that although "You know it's never been easy"

/ Don't give up / 'Cause I believe there's a place / There's a place where we belong."