http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,,25600138-5005368,00.htmlJune 07, 2009 10:00am
PERTH chart-toppers Eskimo Joe have written a tribute to tragic star Heath Ledger (watch the video here).
Their new single and radio hit, Foreign Land, is about Ledger's untimely death in New York.
``New York is a big bad city in some respects,'' Eskimo Joe singer Kav Temperley said. ``It's got a coldness and loneliness to it.
``And this young man dying in a foreign land, we felt the loneliness of the situation.''
Eskimo Joe - Temperley, Joel Quartermain and Stuart McLeod - are from Ledger's hometown of Perth.
``We came from the same town, we were the same age and we were in New York when he died,'' Temperley said.
A powerful lyric in the song - ``I smell the blood of an Australian'' - is about the US media bloodlust following Ledger's death.
``They pretended to be sorry, but they really loved it,'' Quartermain said. ``They loved the fact that somebody was dead.''
Eskimo Joe were scheduled to do US interviews on the same day as Ledger's passing.
``When everyone got wind of the fact we were from the same town as Heath, they shoved microphones in our faces.
``We got a distant taste of the media frenzy. And it left a bad taste.
``For us, it was like: `Let the poor guy be.'''
Ledger's father, Kim, had no comment on the song.
The band, and their record company Warner Music, have had no contact from the Ledger family about Foreign Land.
Eskimo Joe performed an exclusive acoustic version of Foreign Land, which you can watch now.
Foreign Land, by Eskimo Joe, sample lyrics -
Steady my shaky hands
Shut off the world's demands
to get the facts down
Do you understand?
That this is a foreign land
So try to understand that
Do you understand?
Do you understand?
This is what it feels to love
then l can feel that
Even when you're all alone
Even when it's not your home
Take a little look around
nothing else hits the ground
Touch my hand
up to the air
Dying in the foreign land
So do you understand that
Do you understand?
Even when you're all alone
When it's not your home
I smell the blood of an Australian