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September
11
A Year Later
Music mirrors emotions in time of terror
By MATT STOULIL
The entertainment world has responded to the terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in many ways. Along with an onslaught
of war movies from Hollywood have come numerous musical retorts of varying
viewpoints from the music world.
Rock performer Neil Young’s single “Let’s
Roll” was recorded and rush-released late last year as the first single
from his “Are You Passionate?” album. Named after the last words of
Todd Beamer, heard by his wife at the end of a cell phone conversation, as
Beamer and his fellow passengers prepared to take on the terrorists who had
hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, which a few minutes later crashed in a
Pennsylvania field. The track opens with ringing sounds.
“Let’s roll for freedom,
Let’s roll
for love,
Goin’ after Satan,
On the wings of a dove
…
“Let’s roll for justice,
Let’s roll for
truth,
Let’s not let our children,
Grow up fearful in their
youth.”
New Jersey music legend Bruce Springsteen’s “The
Rising” entered the Billboard “Top 200” album
chart in the peak position July 30. Heavily laden with imagery from the World
Trade Center attacks, this album comes from the depths of a man who has lived
his life just a stone’s throw away from Manhattan, taking on the voices of
everyday New Yorkers in a way unique to Springsteen. The song “Into the
Fire” is a lament for the civil servants who gave their all to evacuate
the victims.
“The sky was falling and streaked with blood
I
heard you calling me,
Then you disappeared into dust
Up the stairs, into
the fire.”
Though Springsteen tells the story of 9/11 from different
perspectives on parts of “The Rising,” he leaves the politics to the
politicians, keeping his personal feelings rather ambiguous.
In contrast, country music giant Toby Keith’s “Courtesy
of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” from the album
“Unleashed” tells the story of an American who wants revenge for the
terrorists attacks at any price. The lyrics reflect a take-no-prisoners
nationalist approach toward all supporters of the attack:
“Soon as we could see clearly
Through our big
black eye
Man, we lit up your world
Like the 4th of
July.
“And you’ll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of
A.
’Cause we’ll put a boot in your ass --
It’s the
American way.”
“Man, it’s gonna be hell
When you hear
Mother Freedom
Start ringin’ her bell
And it feels like the whole
wide world is raining down on you
Brought to you courtesy of the Red White
and Blue.”
Keith addressed the recording of this track on CNN’s
“Wolf Blitzer Reports:” “The response was so tremendous, I said,
‘Hey, we’re allowed to be angry.’ I know how angry I was when I
saw those towers come down, and this is my way of serving my country.”
Peter Jennings supposedly barred Keith from performing the song on
ABC’s July 4 special due to the lyrics’ content, according to the
artist.
Nashville rebel Steve Earle responded differently. His highly
political album, “Jerusalem,” slated for release in late September,
takes what some might call an unpatriotic, leftist stance against America in
the post 9/11 world. Earle has always been a marginalized figure with the
Nashville set. Called the “hillbilly Bruce Springsteen,” Earle is a
recovered junkie and ex-convict who fights against the death penalty and land
mines.
On his Web site, Earle addresses the issues at hand with
“Jerusalem.” “I’m not trying to get myself deported or
something. In a big way this is the most pro-American record I’ve ever
made. … I understand why none of those congressmen voted against the
Patriot Act out of respect for the Trade Center victims’ families. …
But this is an incredibly dangerous piece of legislation. Freedoms, American
freedoms, things voted into law as American freedoms, everything that came out
of the 1960s, are disappearing, and as any patriot can see, that has to be
opposed.”
The song making the biggest waves on Earle’s record is
“John Walker’s Blues,” a ballad for John Walker Lindh, the
American who pleaded guilty to providing services to the Taliban in
Afghanistan.
“I don’t condone what he did,” Earle said.
“Still, he’s a 20 year-old kid. My son Justin is almost exactly
Walker’s age. Would I be upset if he suddenly turned up fighting for the
Islamic jihad? Sure, absolutely. Fundamentalism, as practiced by the Taliban,
is the enemy of real thought, and religion too.”
The lyrics portray Walker Lindh in the first person as a confused
young outsider looking for purity and meaning and finding it, for better or for
worse, on the front lines of the jihad. The chorus comes from sura 47, verse
19, of the Quran, the Arabic lyric meaning “I am a witness.” The
entire verse is recited in Arabic at the end of the song.
“A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
There is no God
but God.
“And the first thing I heard that made sense was the
word
Of Mohammed, peace be upon him”
“And I believe God is
great, all praise due to him
And if I should die I’ll rise up to the
sky
Just like Jesus, peace be upon him.”
Earle’s sentiments are the opposite of Keith’s vengeful
rantings, whereas Young and Springsteen seek more moderate ground with their
messages. These artists are among many who have used or created music to
address and deal with the post 9/11 world, much like composers have in the past
used music to address tragedy and world strife.
Matt Stoulil is NCR layout assistant, a bass player and
an avid observer of the music world. His e-mail address is
mstoulil@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, September 6,
2002
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