tribute to 9/11
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
This is a work in progress, but you at Joeuser get the "premier".
To those who know me, I am quite possibly the world's biggest Woody Guthrie fan. When I started formulating some of my feelings following 9/11, I wondered to myself how Woody would have responded.
I believe I fond the answer, and appropriated one of his tunes with lyrics appropriate for 9/11. It's still a work in progress, but I felt the time was right.
It is written to the tune of Woody's song "The sinking of the Reuben James", which, in itself was written to the old folk music tune "wildwood flower". The last stanza came almost directly from ol' Woody's lips, with slight changes to update it for the situation.
Without further adieu, here it is:
Where were you on the day when the twin towers fell,
When so many perished in that fiery hell
3000 souls were taken from the land of the free
And the trade center fell as we watched on TV
(CH)
Tell me, what were their names, tell me what were their names,
The twin towers have fallen and we'll never be the same
What were their names, tell me what were their names
The twin towers have fallen and we'll never be the same.
It was there in the bright of that September morn
That a new generation of heroes were born
"Let's roll!" were the words that brought down the plane
And a country and people forever were changed
(CH)
Well, many months have passed since those brave folks are gone
The Manhattan skyline is still and it's calm
Many months have passed, but still I wonder why
The worst of them must fight while the best of them must die.
respectfully submitted,
Gideon MacLeish
To those who know me, I am quite possibly the world's biggest Woody Guthrie fan. When I started formulating some of my feelings following 9/11, I wondered to myself how Woody would have responded.
I believe I fond the answer, and appropriated one of his tunes with lyrics appropriate for 9/11. It's still a work in progress, but I felt the time was right.
It is written to the tune of Woody's song "The sinking of the Reuben James", which, in itself was written to the old folk music tune "wildwood flower". The last stanza came almost directly from ol' Woody's lips, with slight changes to update it for the situation.
Without further adieu, here it is:
Where were you on the day when the twin towers fell,
When so many perished in that fiery hell
3000 souls were taken from the land of the free
And the trade center fell as we watched on TV
(CH)
Tell me, what were their names, tell me what were their names,
The twin towers have fallen and we'll never be the same
What were their names, tell me what were their names
The twin towers have fallen and we'll never be the same.
It was there in the bright of that September morn
That a new generation of heroes were born
"Let's roll!" were the words that brought down the plane
And a country and people forever were changed
(CH)
Well, many months have passed since those brave folks are gone
The Manhattan skyline is still and it's calm
Many months have passed, but still I wonder why
The worst of them must fight while the best of them must die.
respectfully submitted,
Gideon MacLeish
