10 essential post-9/11 songs
There were plenty of musical reactions to the September 11th attacks, most of which weren’t worth listening to. With a nation in mourning and an entire world brought to a standstill, the responses came almost immediately. Some of the more infamous examples come from America’s country music stars, with acts like Toby Keith and Charlie Daniels using the tragedy as an excuse to spew jingoistic nonsense all over radio airwaves.
But some of the worst offenders were music legends who made tributes that were lukewarm, tone-deaf, or too saccharine. The Eagles’ ‘Hole in the World’, Paul McCartney’s ‘Freedom’, Bon Jovi’s ‘Another Reason to Believe’, and Sarah McLachlan’s ‘World On Fire’ were all well-intentioned but ultimately turgid tributes that failed to capture the scope and tragedy, much less the true trauma, that 9/11 had on the world.
Whether good or bad, music had a lot to say about 9/11 in the years since the attacks. Hell, plenty of artists still have something to say, with acts like Imagine Dragons, Craig Finn, and Beyoncé penning tracks more than a decade later discussing the events. It’s an incredibly difficult subject to find the right tone, for most songs are either too delicate or too overtly reactionary. It’s been difficult to find the balance, especially for the Americans who lived through it.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, there were some great, surprising, aggressive, and terrible allusions to the terrorist attacks of that day. Here are ten tracks, most of which are fantastic, that encapsulate the range of responses that came from one of America’s darkest days.
10 essential post-9/11 songs:
‘The Rising’ – Bruce Springsteen
Pretty much every song on The Rising has something to do with 9/11. As America’s rock music poet laureate, Bruce Springsteen must have felt some kind of duty to write about the nation’s biggest tragedy. Most of the album’s tracks are character portraits of small families or individuals struggling with the aftermath of devastating loss.
One of the few times Springsteen actually gets to pound his chest and wave the flag is on the album’s title track, but it’s more subtle and emotional than most 9/11 reaction songs.
‘NYC’ – Interpol
While nearly everyone in music was attempting to prop America up in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, New York City’s own Interpol had seen the destruction first-hand. The city left behind was strong, but it was also burned out, demolished, and confused. But the bones of what made New York City so unique were still there, something that singer Paul Banks recognised as he penned a tribute to the unstoppable motion of the city, ‘NYC’.
What Banks stumbles on isn’t group mourning but rather personal assurance: “It’s up to me now, turn on the bright lights.”
‘Ramshackle Day Parade’ – Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros
What a shame that the only way to hear Joe Strummer’s musical response to 9/11 was after his own death in 2002. He had made some comments immediately following the tragic events of that day, largely based on hoping that people would unite over forces of evil.
He certainly didn’t sound that optimistic in the lyrics to ‘Ramshackle Day Parade’, a vitriolic pushback against the military-industrial complex and the lost morals that opened the doors to more corruption and terror. Sadly, it was one of the last fiery positions that Strummer ever took.
‘Worlds Apart’ – …And They Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
The was a notable feeling of restraint on Worlds Apart, the fourth album from Texas art rock heroes …And They Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. More melancholy and less combative than the band’s previous work, the album had a notable exception to that rule in its title track.
Opening with a potent “Hey, fuck you, man!”, ‘Worlds Away’ puts rock and roll, music, and art all into context, with lives lost and pointless destruction nullifying some of the more petty concerns.
‘An Open Letter to NYC’ – Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys could count themselves among the most beloved cultural ambassadors of New York in the early 2000s. Transitioning into a welcome elder statesmen position in popular music, the Beasties nevertheless had to address the events that targeted their home town.
‘An Open Letter to NYC’ has all the love and healing qualities that most post-9/11 songs of unity have; only the Beasties know how to make their earnestness sound pretty damn cool.
‘Words I Never Said’ – Lupe Fiasco
Just in case you were unsure of Lupe Fiasco’s political positions post-9/11, he makes it absolutely clear in the first line of ‘Words I Never Said’: “I really think the War on Terror is a bunch of bullshit.”
Nobody gets spared across the track, not even Barack Obama, who gets criticised for the bombings that continued under his presidency, a lasting legacy that the War on Terror never really ended. Going full scorched earth, Lupe Fiasco takes aim at any form of established power while still preaching a message of peace.
‘911’ – Gorillaz and D12 ft. Terry Hall
Just one day after 9/11, Damon Albarn and D12 decided to cut a new song after the Detroit rap collective was stranded in England following the terrorist attacks. Most writers were given some time to process and tweak their reactions to the tragedy, but not the members of D12. Instead, it’s all pure feeling as anger against the perpetrators rubs up against xenophobia, racism, and easy excuses to go to war.
Most importantly, the seething resentment toward the hypocritical American government comes through loud and clear, proving that D12 was dismayed long before the damage had been done.
‘Far Away’ – Sleater-Kinney
It’s kind of remarkable that we’ve gone this far without saying the name George W. Bush. Well, that ends now. The president saw a major boost in support following the attacks, but he didn’t score any sympathy points with Sleater-Kinney, the vital punk rockers who contrasted Bush’s secure lockdown with the immense danger that first responders were putting themselves in following the attacks.
‘Far Away’ is a plea for safety, but also a poison-tipped swipe at a man who undoubtedly benefited from a national tragedy.
‘Skylines and Turnstiles’ – My Chemical Romance
The My Chemical Romance origin story begins with a young Gerard Way witnessing 9/11 on his way to work. The widespread destruction made Way realise how delicate life truly was, and so his passion for following music became his main priority.
Way’s first composition for My Chemical Romance was ‘Skylines and Turnstiles’, a haunting and furious tale of how a mundane Tuesday became a hellscape “steel corpses” and “fallout vapours”.
‘Let’s Roll’ – Neil Young
The famous final words of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer as he and the rest of the occupants attempted to take back control of the plane, “Let’s roll”, has been mainly co-opted as a battle cry for military forces looking to justify and support the war on terror.
It’s not entirely clear whether Neil Young successfully found the proper nuance in ‘Let’s Roll’, leaving it as one of his more controversial tracks. But ‘Let’s Roll’ did show that everyone was trying to reconcile with the devastation that came from 9/11, even if it wasn’t always for the best.
