I usually start my class with a song or two relevant to the course topic or the date in history. As fate would have it, I have a class today. I lived in Boston during 9/11/01 and obviously, there was a much greater connection to the events than folks tend to have here in Texas.
I don’t want to play a “hey! It’s a 9/11 song” but I would like to play something reflective. Not too sad, because I don’t know if I want to have someone lose it in class (I count myself in that number). And I think by not playing something, my students would definitely think something was amiss.
Well, I’d play John Lennon’s “Imagine.” It’s looked upon as being a crappy, dirge of a some by some; I understand that. But the lyrics about imagining no religion, or countries, or things to kill and die for are very appropriate for such an occasion.
Bruce Springsteen’s album, “The Rising,” is essentially all about 9/11. “Into The Fire” and “The Rising” itself are about the collapse of the towers; the latter recounts the death and, well, transcendence of a firefighter. “Empty Sky,” “You’re Missing,” and “Lonesome Day” are about dealing with loss. “Nothing Man” is about survivor guilt.
“The Change” by Garth Brooks was written after the Oklahoma City bombing. It’s a very poignant, touching song about staying hopeful and compassionate in the face of tragedy.
Try to Remember. It was written 40 years before 9/11, but it always makes me think of “when the fires of September made us mellow” and not utterly terrified.
Overcome by Live was used a lot after 9/11, they donated proceeds from the sale of the single to benefit 9/11 charities. The album which contained this song was released a week after the attacks.
VH1 did a video with shots of the aftermath. It’s hard to watch, but it’s also hard to remember that things were really that bad and everyone really that cohesive at the same time.