THE RUBBERBANDITS DROPPED their latest single today and they’re certainly not messing around.
While they’ve played the track ‘Sonny’ live a couple of times, the official video was released this morning and it tackles the issue of mental health in no subtle way.
The Limerick duo examine the complexity of suicide, dismissing the notion that there’s one particular ‘reason’ to cause it.
The lyrics include some of the more careless chatter or dismissals we can often hear around the issue of medal health, like:
What he has is a problem, not a f*cking disease.
The song tackles the stigma around suicide, an issue the band have spoken out about in the past
Blindboy Boatclub appeared on Channel 4 news last year where he spoke passionately about the need to tackle the massive suicide rate in Ireland.
Young Irish people, the suicide amongst them is massive. Huge amounts of suicide, jumping into rivers, and emigration and a lot of young Irish people, they don’t see a future.
Why does it take a man with a plastic bag over his face to talk sense about mental health in Ireland? @Rubberbanditshttps://t.co/zKrCLNLUuR
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) 24 March 2016
They also made a Guide to Mental Health which first aired on Des Bishop’s Election Special that took on a life of its own online. The video has over 665k views.
Fans have been praising Sonny on YouTube, calling it a” powerful poignant piece” with one user adding:
Fair Play Lads, hopefully this will help somebody good video too, shows people they are not alone. No matter how down any of us get there’s always a better day..
The lads in the plastic bags have done it again
If you need to talk, contact:
- Pieta House 1800 247 247 or email mary@pieta.ie (suicide, self-harm)
- Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
- Aware 1800 80 48 48 (depression, anxiety)
- Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
- Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)
