"The Community of Hope" is a song by the English musician

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

. It is the opening track and second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from her ninth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

The Hope Six Demolition Project ''The Hope Six Demolition Project'' is the ninth studio album by the English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey, released on 15 April 2016 on Island Records. It followed her acclaimed Mercury Prize-winning album ''Let England Shake'', releas ...

'', and was released digitally on 11 March 2016 and physically on 16 April 2016 on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. The song was premiered on

Shaun Keaveny Shaun William Keaveny (born 14 June 1972) is a British broadcaster who presented the Breakfast Show on radio station BBC Radio 6 Music for 11 years, and the afternoon show for a further three years. Early life and education Keaveny grew up on ...

's show on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

on 10 March 2016, the day before its release.

Inspiration

The song developed from PJ Harvey's poem "Sight-Seeing, South of the River", published in her 2015 poetry book '' The Hollow of the Hand''. In the "Acknowledgements" section of the book she thanks

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

reporter Paul Schwartzman for this poem. Paul Schwartzman described his experience in article "I gave a famous rock star a windshield tour of D.C. — and didn't know who she was". Some of the lines in the song are direct transcriptions of Schwartzman's comments; video sections of his tour are featured in the music video. The song's repeating line "they're gonna put a Walmart here" refers to a notorious initiative in which

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

was permitted for the first time to open outlets in the city proper in exchange for constructing some in particularly deprived parts of the city, which it was hoped would reduce a

food desert A food desert is an area that has limited access to food that is plentiful, affordable, or nutritious. In contrast, an area with greater access to supermarkets and vegetable shops with fresh foods may be called a food oasis. The designation cons ...

problem. Walmart only opened stores in affluent parts of the city before cancelling plans to open any in poorer areas. The locations in the poem are listed in no clear order, but trace a clean linear path beginning at the Skyland Mall on Alabama Avenue, the planned location for the Southeast Walmart, following Alabama Avenue past the only IHOP in Southeast DC at Alabama and 15th. Alabama merges with Martin Luther King boulevard just past the Ward 7/8 border, by St Elizabeth's Hospital (the former institution referenced in the song), then continues past the junction of MLK and South Capitol Street and one block south past the Community of Hope], a community clinic which provides medical and social services to under-served populations in DC, which is referenced in the poem by the statement "Here's the Community of Hope".

Criticism

Upon its release, "The Community of Hope" drew criticism from people unaware that some of her lyrics were direct quotes from Schwartzman and intended to portray popular attitudes about the city. It was commented upon by politicians running for the council seat in Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.#Ward 7, Ward 7 in

the District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with former DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray saying, "I will not dignify this inane composition with a response," and his campaign treasurer Chuck Thies insulting Harvey with, "PJ Harvey is to music what

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...

is to cable news." Grant Thompson, a pastor and former Congressional staffer running for the Ward 7 council seat, stated that Harvey "needs to see more of the city." The circumstances under which music video was produced were also criticized by Joshua Alston, writing for ''The A.V. Club.'' Much of his criticism focused on both the use of a black gospel choir "to evoke earthiness, spirituality, and rapturous emotion" as

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or cultural identity, identity by members of another culture or identity in a manner perceived as inappropriate or unacknowledged. Such a controversy typically ari ...

, as well as Harvey's failure to "treat the natives of that community he is writing aboutwith dignity and respect," citing her refusal to be interviewed by a member of the community who guided her on a tour of the city.

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes of ''The Hope Six Demolition Project''. *

- vocals *

John Parish John Parish (born 11 April 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Parish is best known for his work with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. He has also worked with such artists as Eels, Aldous Harding, Tracy Chapm ...

- guitar, background vocals *

Terry Edwards Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards. Biography Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding mem ...

- baritone saxophone, percussion, background vocals * Kenrick Rowe - percussion, background vocals * Enrico Gabrielli - bass clarinet, percussion, background vocals * Mike Smith - piano, baritone saxophone, background vocals * Alessandro Stefana - guitar, background vocals * James Johnston - keyboards, background vocals *

Alain Johannes Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has ...

- guitar, background vocals * Adam 'Cecil' Bartlett - bass, background vocals *

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

- background vocals

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Community of Hope Island Records singles 2016 singles 2016 songs PJ Harvey songs Songs written by PJ Harvey Vagrant Records singles