Seth Robinson

AMST 2103-503
April 18, 2014
The Healing Power of Music
According to Christine Lee Gengaro, music has provided a voice for protest, solidarity
and hope during and in the aftermath of difficult times (25). Music has been used as a tool to
propagate political ideologies, and it was used to that end following the attacks on the World
Trade Center on September 11, 2001. However, in the aftermath of perhaps the darkest day in
United States history, and through the tears and the fears of the American public, the healing
power of music helped this grieving nation rebound and rebuild.
Less than eight hours after the north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators gathered for a press conference on the steps of the Capitol.
After brief speeches from two of the legislators in which they, proclaimed sorrow for the
victims, unity with the president and a commitment to bring the perpetrators to justice (Ritter
19), they observed a brief moment of silence which concluded the conference. Television
anchors then resumed their voice-over commentary but were shortly interrupted by the sound of
singing coming from the group of legislators. The television cameras panned to the singers in
time to capture the group singing God bless America in full voice. Generally a gathering of
Democrat and Republican politicians signals bickering and disagreement. On that day however,
there were no arguments and no party lines to cross. On that day, in that moment there were no
Democrats or Republicans, there were only Americans. That is the power that music possesses.

A song can conjure up memories of a particular time in ones life. A first kiss, a family
vacation or a college spring break trip, life has a soundtrack. On October 28, 2001, country
music superstar Alan Jackson woke in the middle of the night and penned the lyrics to a song that
would contribute to the soundtrack of millions of Americans lives. The song was titled, Where
Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) and soon it would be playing in virtually every
home and at every sporting event and public gathering in America. Regardless of ones personal
preference in terms of musical genre, this song moved people. It didnt take sides politically or
tell the listener how he or she should feel about 9/11. Instead it asked people to remember where
they were when they heard about the attacks and how it made them feel. When asked about how
the idea for the song came about, Jackson said, I didnt want to write a patriotic song, and I
didnt want it to be vengeful either. But I didnt want to forget how I felt and how I knew other
people felt that day (Price). Jackson has been a mainstay on country music radio for nearly
three decades, but this song went beyond the confines of the country and western genre. The
song got a lot of play on pop radio as well, peaking at #28 on the Billboard pop charts. In an
article for Billboard Magazine, Deborah Evans Price said, A multitude of songs have been
written and recorded in the wake of September 11, but none captures the myriad of emotions
unleashed by the terrorist attacks on an unsuspecting nation more perfectly than Jacksons
eloquent ballad. The style or chord structure of the song was not important, but the message was
one that most Americans could relate to.
Jacksons was certainly not the only song written about the events of 9/11 in which the
goal was to unify, uplift or promote patriotism. Darryl Worleys Have You Forgotten, urged
Americans not to forget all those who lost their lives on that day and to get behind the
government in the war effort because, theres some things worth fighting for. Another pro-war

song was released by Toby Keith titled, Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. In this song
Keith warns the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks that, well put a boot in your ass, its the
American way. Worley and Keiths songs have an obvious leaning toward the political right.
John Hiatt wrote an uplifting song that steered clear of politics titled, New York Had Her Heart
Broke. Like Jacksons, Where were you it was deeply moving for all Americans, regardless of
political affiliation. Hiatt speaks of the devastation in his beloved city with hope and resolve
because, like a lover she will rise, once again to touch the skies. While these songs were
intended to show support and solidarity for the government and the nation as a whole, there were
other artists, to be sure, who took a much different approach in their 9/11 relating song writing.
There were plenty of artists who used music to voice their disapproval of the war that
began after 9/11, and the Bush administrations decision making regarding that war. Rockabilly
singer/songwriter Steve Earle wrote an entire anti-war album. That album, The Revolution Starts
Now, featured songs like Rich Mans War, a lament about the poor boys who always seem to
be the ones who suffer the most in times of war. Like Earle, Bruce Springsteen was not short on
disdain for the war or for President Bush. In 2006 he performed a rewritten version of Blind
Alfred Reeds, How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? criticizing, the criminal
ineptitude of the Bush administration and FEMA (Melnick 158). This particular performance
was for a hurricane Katrina benefit, but his sentiment resonates through the war effort as well.
Earle and Springsteen certainly did not forge a new path in terms of political activism through
song, there are many earlier examples from the Vietnam war in particular. There was the Country
Joe and the Fish song, I Feel Like Im Fixin to Die. John Fogherty of Creedence Clearwater
Revival wrote Fortunate Son, a song that echoes Steve Earles sentiment about the poor

boys place in war. The Buffalo Springfield had For What Its Worth and Neil Young of
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young wrote Ohio, an ode to the Kent State massacre.
It is clear that, mainstream popular music in the United States has always provided a
window on national politics (Garofalo 3). Some music has supported a cause, some music has
rejected a cause and some music has served as, what Jeffry Melnick terms 9/11 shout-outs
(141). These shout-outs tend to use 9/11 as a vehicle rather than a destination (Melnick 143).
They have no real meaningful purpose other than to say, Look at me, I used 9/11 in a song. Now
buy my record. This type of 9/11 related music has no real objective in terms of either helping
the listener heal from the tragedy or attempting to get the listener to question the intentions of the
government, as those previous examples do. These artists use 9/11 as a conduit for commercial
success. That is not to say that meaningful and genuine music cannot garner commercial success.
Certainly Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Steve Earle and Bruce Springsteen have gained commercial
success from their offerings, but their listeners tend to be left with some semblance of emotional
healing or mental enlightenment. Their goal is to affect change, either in thought or emotion.
This genuine music is an example of what John Shelton Lawrence refers to as, rituals of
mourning (35), which are public expressions of sentiment that convey meanings to audiences
(Lawrence 35). In the case of post 9/11 America, some of these rituals convey the message that,
were hurting but we should band together and bring justice to those responsible for our pain, as
is the case with Toby Keiths song. Other rituals convey the message that, were hurting but
making others hurt is not going to ease our pain, as is the case with Steve Earles album.
Regardless of which side of the aisle a piece of music falls on, it has the power to affect change.
9/11 did not evoke precisely the same feelings for every American. The collapse of the
towers made a different sound for everyone who heard it, and for each the noise echoed in a

different key (quoted in Melnick 154). However, one must recognize the enormity of the pain
felt by the nation on that day. That pain transcended political ideologies, sexual orientation,
social standing and religious beliefs. The everyday problems facing Americans; troubles at work,
financial struggles or dissatisfaction with government leaders, suddenly did not seem so big. If
only for a short while, Democrat or Republican, gay or straight, Christian or atheist did not
matter. The gaps that separated this nation were bridged and music played a crucial role in
building that bridge. That is healing power of music.

Works Cited
Garofalo, Reebee. Pop Goes to War, 2001-2004: U.S. Popular Music After 9/11. Music In The
Post 9/11 World. 2013: 3-26. Web
Lawrence, John Shelton. Rituals of National Innocence. Journal of American Culture 28.1
(March 2005): 35-48. Web.
Melnick, Jeffry. 9/11 Culture. Malden, MA:Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.
Price, Deborah Evans. The Eloquent Drive of Aristas Jackson. Billboard Magazine 29
December 2001. Web.
Ritter, Jonathan, and J. Martin Daughtry, eds. Music in the Post 9/11 World. Routledge, 2013.
Print.