Sunday, September 11, 2011

Songs about September 11

Songs about September 11 express different feelings.


On That Day
Leonard Cohen



Some people say it's what we deserve
For sins against God, for crimes in the world
I wouldn't know, I'm just holding the fort
Since that day they wounded New York

Some people say they hate us of old
Our women unveiled, our slaves and our gold
I wouldn't know, I'm just holding the fort
But answer me this, I won't take you to court

Did you go crazy or did you report
On that day, on that day
They wounded New York



The Rising
Bruce Springsteen



Can't see nothing in front of me
Can't see nothing coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness
I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed
On my back's a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile line.

Come on up for the rising,
Come on up, lay your hands in mine.
Come on up for the rising,
Come on up for the rising tonight

Left the house this morning,
Bells ringing filled the air.
I was wearing the cross of my calling,
On wheels of fire I come rolling down here

Come on up for the rising,
Come on up, lay your hands in mine.
Come on up for the rising,
Come on up for the rising tonight

Spirits above and behind me
Faces gone, black eyes burning bright,
May their precious blood forever bind me,
Lord, as I stand before your fiery light.

I see you, Mary, in the garden,
In the garden of a thousand sighs,
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancing in a sky filled with light.
May I feel your arms around me,
May I feel your blood mix with mine,
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancing on the end of the line

Sky of blackness and sorrow (a dream of life),
Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life),
Sky of glory and sadness (a dream of life),
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (a dream of life),
Sky of memory and shadow (a dream of life),
Your burning wind fills my arms tonight.
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life),
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life (a dream of life),

Come on up for the rising,
Come on up, lay your hands in mine.
Come on up for the rising,
Come on up for the rising tonight.


Let’s Roll 
by Tony McAnany


Blue, white, and red, Red, white and blue
We stand together, carry you.
Blue, white, and red, Red, white and blue
We’ll hold you high, one nation true.

Blue, white, and red, Red, white and blue
With liberty for all.
Blue, white, and red, Red, white and blue
We’re indivisible.

We stand together,
Mercy, love, hope and truth,
Brother with brother, side by side, hand in hand.
Please grant us strength, dear God above, do grant us strength
We’ll shout your name, united as one.

Let’s roll, let’s roll, let’s fight, let’s show the world what’s right
Let’s roll, let’s roll, let’s fight, this spirit is our light
Let’s roll, let’s roll, that’s right, let’s show the world what’s right.
Let’s roll, let’s roll, let’s roll, let’s roll, this spirit is our light

Now’s the time, the time is now,
To lift our souls, remember how we came to be
In God we trust
From sea to shining sea

Now’s the time, the time is now
To revive the spirit and the love,
To revive the faith we find in Him,
In God we trust.

We stand together,
Mercy, love, hope and truth,
Brother with brother, side by side, hand in hand.
Please grant us strength, dear God above, do grant us strength
We’ll shout your name, united as one soul.

Let’s roll, let’s fight, let’s show the world what’s right.
Let’s roll, let’s fight, this spirit is our light.
Let’s roll, let’s fight, let’s show the world our light.
Let’s roll, this spirit is our light.

Let’s roll, here we go, let’s fight, let’s show the world what’s right
Let’s roll, here we go, let’s fight, this spirit is our light
Let’s roll, let’s fight, let’s show the world what’s right.
Let’s roll, gotta roll, gotta roll, this spirit is our light

Here we go, oh yeah, we got to roll, all right, don’t you know the spirit is our light,
Here we go, oh yeah, we got to roll, all right, don’t you know the spirit is our light,
Here we go, we got to roll, don’t you know the spirit is our light,
Let’s roll, let’s roll, let’s roll, let’s roll, unite!


No Sure Way
Loudon Wainwright III


So I started out on High Street -
Had to travel into town.
Like some Orpheus descending
Through a turnstile underground
From Brooklyn Heights into Manhattan,
Which was where I had to be.
Now you have to take the A train,
There's no more service on the C

And when you are underwater
Sometimes the mind plays tricks,
And there beneath the East River
It felt like the river Styx
The first stop was Broadway Nassau -
A few more passengers got in
We all sat - no one was standing
There somewhere we'd never been

They say heaven's high above us,
Hell's not far below
In that subway tunnel
There was no sure way to know

Chambers Street a closed ghost station -
Passing through we seemed to glide
Like prisoners inside compartments
On some house of horrors ride.

The walls were tiled -
I hadn't noticed
They seemed so antiseptically clean
But we knew what we were under
The lights were - on that seemed obscene

And there I saw the three initials
W, T, and then the C
I'd survived somehow was living
But somewhere I shouldn't be
At the next stop the doors opened
And I emerged up above ground
I was in another country –
Elysian Fields no, Chinatown

They say heaven's high above us ,
Hell's somewhere below -
Standing on Canal Street
There was no sure way to know.

They say heaven's high above us,
Hell's not far below
Standing on Canal Street
There was no sure way to go.


Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?
Alan Jackson


Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day -
Out in the yard with your wife and children?
Working on some stage in LA?
Did you stand there in shock at the site of that black smoke
Rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger in fear for your neighbor?
Or did you just sit down and cry?

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones,
And pray for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?

Did you burst out in pride for the red white and blue?
The heroes who died just doing what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer?
And look at yourself to what really matters?

Chorus
I'm just a singer of simple songs,
I'm not a real political man,
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you,
The difference in Iraq and Iran,
But I know Jesus and I talk to God,
And I remember this from when I was young,
Faith, hope and love are some good things he gave us,
And the greatest is love.

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day -
Teaching a class full of innocent children?
Driving down some cold interstate?
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor?
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?

Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened?
Close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages?
Speak with some stranger on the street?
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow?
Go out and buy you a gun?
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns?

Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger?
Stand in line and give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family,
Thank God you had somebody to love?

Chorus (x 2)

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?

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