Music mirrors emotions in time of terror - September 11: a year later - rock and country music United States - Brief Article

Rock performer Neil Young's single "Let's Roll" was recorded and rush-released late last year as the first single from his "Are You Passionate?" album. Named after the last words of Todd Beamer, heard by his wife at the end of a cell phone conversation, as Beamer and his fellow passengers prepared to take on the terrorists who had hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, which a few minutes later crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The track opens with ringing sounds.

   "Let's roll for freedom,
   Let's roll for love,
   Goin' after Satan,
   On the wings of a dove ...

   "Let's roll for justice,
   Let's roll for truth,
   Let's not let our children,
   Grow up fearful in their
   youth."

New Jersey music legend Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" entered the Billboard "Top 200" album chart in the peak position July 30. Heavily laden with imagery from the World Trade Center attacks, this album comes from the depths of a man who has lived his life just a stone's throw away from Manhattan, taking on the voices of everyday New Yorkers in a way unique to Springsteen. The song "Into the Fire" is a lament for the civil servants who gave their all to evacuate the victims.

   "The sky was falling and
   streaked with blood
   I heard you calling me,
   Then you disappeared into
   dust
   Up the stairs, into the fire."

Though Springsteen tells the story of 9/11 from different perspectives on parts of "The Rising," he leaves the politics to the politicians, keeping his personal feelings rather ambiguous.

In contrast, country music giant Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" from the album "Unleashed" tells the story of an American who wants revenge for the terrorists attacks at any price. The lyrics reflect a take-no-prisoners nationalist approach toward all supporters of the attack:

   "Soon as we could see clearly
   Through our big black eye
   Man, we lit up your world
   Like the 4th of July.

   "And you'll be sorry that you
   messed with
   The U.S. of A.
   `Cause we'll put a boot in your
   ass--
   It's the American way."

   "Man, it's gonna be hell
   When you hear Mother Freedom
   Start ringin' her bell
   And it feels like the whole
   wide world is raining down
   on you
   Brought to you courtesy of the
   Red White and Blue."

Keith addressed the recording of this track on CNN's "Wolf Blitzer Reports:" "The response was so tremendous, I said, `Hey, we're allowed to be angry.' I know how angry I was those towers come down, and this is my way of serving my country."

Peter Jennings supposedly barred Keith from performing the song on ABC's July 4 special due to the lyrics' content, according to the artist.

Nashville rebel Steve Earle responded differently. His highly political album, "Jerusalem," slated for release in late September, takes what some might call an unpatriotic, leftist stance against America in the post 9/11 world. Earle has always been a marginalized figure with the Nashville set. Called the "hillbilly Bruce Springsteen," Earle is a recovered junkie and ex-convict who fights against the death penalty and land mines.

On his Web site, Earle addresses the issues at hand with "Jerusalem." "I'm not trying to get myself deported or something. In a big way this is the most pro-American record I've ever made.... I understand why none of those congressmen voted against the Patriot Act out of respect for the Trade Center victims' families.... But this is an incredibly dangerous piece of legislation. Freedoms, American freedoms, things voted into law as American can freedoms, everything that came out of the 1960s, are disappearing, and as any patriot can see, that has to be opposed."

The song making the biggest waves on Earle's record is "John Walker's Blues," a ballad for John Walker Lindh, the American who pleaded guilty to providing services to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"I don't condone what he did," Earle said. "Still, he's a 20 year-old kid. My son Justin is almost exactly Walker's age. Would I be upset if he suddenly turned up fighting for the Islamic jihad? Sure, absolutely. Fundamentalism, as practiced by the Taliban, is the enemy of real thought, and religion too."

The lyrics portray Walker Lindh in the first person as a confused young outsider looking for purity and meaning and finding it, for better or for worse, on the front lines of the jihad. The chorus comes from sura 47, verse 19, of the Quran, the Arabic lyric meaning "I am a witness." The entire verse is recited in Arabic at the end of the song.

   "A shadu la ilaha ilia Allah
   There is no God but God.

   "And the first thing I heard
   that made sense was the
   word
   Of Mohammed, peace be
   upon him"

   "And I believe God is great,
   all praise due to him
   And if I should die I'll rise up
   to the sky
   Just like Jesus, peace be upon
   him."

Earle's sentiments are the opposite of Keith's vengeful rantings, whereas Young and Springsteen seek more moderate ground with their messages. These artists are among many who have used or created music to address and deal with the post 9/11 world, much like composers have in the past used music to address tragedy and world strife.

Matt Stoulil is NCR layout assistant, a bass player and an avid observer of the music world. His e-mail address is mstoulil@natcath.org