The Mickey Hart Band has released “Jersey Shore,” a new song to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. The song can be downloaded for free here, but a donation is suggested. Those who give money will also receive two hours worth of bonus music, including the Mickey Hart Band’s full length performance at the Jersey Shore on August 17, 2012, and tracks for their latest album Mysterium Tremendum.

Hart writes, “I was a kid from Coney Island, Atlantic Beach and Far Rockaway. The Shore was the totem, the centerpiece, a physical representation of community spirit for many generations. My inspiration for this song began when I saw Brian Williams on the NBC Evening News. Brian showed distress clearly in his eyes and voice. It was a deep loss, not just property, but so much more. Jon Bon Jovi was with Brian, telling the story of personal loss of his sense of place growing up, losing his most precious places, now only memories—powerful, moving words .  After the broadcast, it was birthing time.  The song was born in 5 minutes. It is a tribute to the people and to the place we call The Jersey Shore. It’s a song of victory over adversity. A song of hardship, of hope, tears, and smiles—but above all survival. It’s time to rebuild what we’ve lost. Let’s bring back the beauty.  Your help is needed now, more than ever. Please give what you can.”

All of the proceeds from the “Jersey Shore” downloads will go to Clean Ocean Action, a non-profit that has organized over 3,800 counters to help with Hurricane relief since November of last year. Their volunteers have worked on various projects including beach sweeps, toy drives for children displaced by Sandy, home and business cleanups, and “memorabilia” cleanups where they find items that may be highly significant and catalog them so people can find them via the local police department. If you would like to work with Clean Water Action, you can do so here.