Rosanne Cash Writes a Song for Charity

(Photo : Opus 3)
Rosanne Cash

Rosanne Cash has long been a member of St. Luke's church in New York, NY. Since the 19th century, the church has been a staple in the community and since the 1980s, has been working diligently through outreach to those affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Roseanne has written a song to help raise funds for that outreach.

"Jim and George" is a song she wrote about a gay couple. All proceeds from its sales will benefit the Greenwich Village parish's LGBT and HIV/AIDS outreach programs - The People Living with AIDS project (which provides a weekly meal, optional spiritual counsel, and fellowship for clients living with HIV/AIDS), and "The Church": Art, Acceptance and a Place to Be Yourself for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/ Questioning Youth and their Allies, which provides a safe haven for LGBTQA street youth under the age of 21.

On the church's website, Cash talked about the song, saying, "Love is Love, and love doesn't contain itself within arbitrary borders of gender, orientation, race, nationality, creed or age." She took that a step farther in an interview with Metro Weekly, comparing gay rights to the fight women had to take on in order to be able to vote. She said, "You know who John Stuart Mill was? He was one of the only 19th century men who stood up for women's rights, who thought that women should vote. He was vocal about it, and he was ridiculed and abused for it, yet he didn't stop. I've always thought that straight people were morally bound to do that for gay and lesbians and for their rights. ... I think it's necessary."

• Preview or buy "Jim and George"

Learn more about St. Luke's outreach programs...