Twenty three years ago today. For anybody old enough to remember where they were on September 11, 2001, it's a day you'll never forget. I was in my 8th grade science class when our teacher came in and told us that terrorists had flown planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And as 8th graders obviously we didn't really comprehend what that meant, but as we learned more and more about the horrors that were unfolding, it was clear that the world had changed forever in that instant. The thing that I remember the most about 9/11 may seem strange in hindsight, but all I could think about at the time was: How could something like this happen on such a picture-perfect day? There wasn't a cloud in the sky, it was finally turning to fall and the weather was perfect...and there I was in my small-town West Virginia middle school, dreading going to my next WV History class because I hadn't done the assignment (sorry Mrs. Epling), while our country was in the midst of the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history. None of it made sense. Of course I went home and watched the news for the rest of the night. I saw the replays of the buildings collapsing, I saw the chaos in the streets of New York and Washington DC, I saw people running for their lives and the looks of confusion, anger, fear and sadness on their faces. It's burned into my memory, and anybody old enough to remember that day can tell you exactly where they were when the world stopped turning. As we began to pick up the pieces in the days and weeks following the attacks, the CMA Awards were held just two months later on November 7, 2001. And as you can imagine, the night was filled with tributes to our country and to the lives that were lost. But none were more powerful than the tribute from Alan Jackson. Sitting on a stool with just his guitar, Alan performed a new song that he had written in the aftermath of the attacks. And instead of a patriotic anthem like we saw from so many other artists at the time, "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)" was a simple reflection on all of the feelings he felt in the aftermath of the attack:
"Where were you when the world stopped turning That September day? Teaching a class full of innocent children Or 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?" Speaking on the song, Alan said he wanted to try to put into words how he was feeling as he saw the second plane hit:
"I didn't want to write a patriotic song. And I didn't want it to be vengeful, either. But I didn't want to forget about how I felt and how I knew other people felt that day." And he was initially hesitant to record it, because he didn't want it to seem like he was capitalizing on the tragedy. But when he played the song for his record label, they told him he had to record it. According to RCA chair Joe Galante:
"We just kind of looked at one another. Nobody spoke for a full minute." And Jackson reluctantly agreed, realizing it was a song that the world needed to hear at a painful time.
"I'm glad that people like it, but I'm a little nervous about the attention. I think it was Hank Williams who said, 'God writes the songs, I just hold the pen.' That's the way I felt with this song." Though he never expected it to become the hit that it did, that CMA Award performance turned into a powerful moment of healing for a nation that was hurting:
“That CMAs performance made me very proud, but I thought it would probably go away in a couple of years and I wouldn’t be playing it on the road anymore. But now after all these years, it’s kind of just evolved… in what the song is about, anyway. It’s all about faith, hope, and love… not just about 9/11.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwcWVs4Eejg
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