See Annie Lennox’s Moving New ‘Requiem for a Private War’ Video

Annie Lennox sings about the tragedies of war in her first new song in eight years, “Requiem for a Private War.” In the video for the song, she sings elegiacally, “All the world is falling down,” as footage from the new movie, A Private War, plays. It’s a slow-building, passionate meditation on all the hurt people feel when under siege, and it fits perfectly with the movie’s horrific imagery.

The film, out now, tells the story of journalist Marie Colvin, who wrote for the U.K.’s Sunday Times from 1985 until her death, during a siege in Syria, in 2012. It stars Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan and Stanley Tucci, and it was directed by Matthew Heineman.

“Writing ‘Requiem for a Private War’ for the film A Private War has not only given me an opportunity to honor Marie Colvin,” Lennox said in a statement, “but also aims to amplify the ‘truth to power’ message she fought all her life to convey to the world, regarding the atrocious consequences of warfare and its effects upon innocent civilian populations.”

After Colvin’s death, her friends launched the Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network. It provides support for female journalists in the Middle East and North Africa with an online community where they can receive mentoring and share advice. Proceeds from the song will be donated to the Network.

Lennox recently told Entertainment Weekly that the tune is a one-off. “I haven’t made any plans to write any other songs,” she said. “It’s a strange one. I mean, I’ve had such a powerful and deep relationship with music and expression and seeing and writing lyrics and the whole artistry of channeling emotions for people to also receive or to enter themselves. It was such a huge profit for me for most of my life — in fact, all my life.” She went on to say that she’s focusing her attention on “global feminism,” supporting causes like the Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network.