kxh0093's blog

Artistic Responses to War Project

Writing songs, writing poems, just writing how you feel in any form helps you deal with what is going on inside yourself. Sharing it with others may also help them deal with it, too. They will know that they aren’t going through the same thing alone. I chose two songs that are about 9/11. They are both imposing a question to the listen to think about. The first song is asking the ones opposed to the wars to remember what happened on that day. The second song is asking anyone where they were when they found out the news of the terrorist attacks because we all went through it together, somehow.

[The song name is linked to each YouTube video.]

Have you forgotten? By Darryl Worley

This song is questioning if Americans who oppose the wars going on in our present day have forgotten what happened on September 11, 2001. This song creates a lot of emotion when I hear it. It makes me remember that my 4 brothers are fighting for our freedom. It makes me remember that I haven’t seen them in years at a time. It makes me remember how scared I felt on 9/11. The pictures are impactful in this music video tribute. He asks if we forgot “how it felt that day” and if we forgot how “our people [were] blown away.” These words are direct. It is so sad to even think about how many innocent people were killed and what a cruel death they received. We want justice for all. This song is responding to war by talking to the ones’ opposed of it and reminding them why we are in this war in the first place. We will NEVER FORGET 9/11.

Where were you when the world stopped turning? By: Alan Jackson

This tribute video’s pictures and short clips are quite incredible. I remember watching EVERYTHING when I was 12 years old from right after the 1st plane hitting the World Trade Center until … I guess, today. I tune in to anything and everything about 9/11. It hurt me so much. Yet, when I see coverage about it I step back from what’s going on in my life and re-evaluate what’s going on because anything can change in an instant. This song asks where we were on this day? It also asks what did you do after you found out? He says he is just a singer, basically an average guy not knowing the difference between two countries, and a believe in Jesus – just like you and me. Yet, we tend to forget what makes us so fortunate to live in this country…FREEDOM! This song is responding to war by holding the Americans together. As we hear the words and see the pictures and we remember, get mad/sad/any other emotion, and pull back together as a unified country all over again.

*Kaymarie Henley*