Mus 110cl Research Paper

Dawn Hardister

MUS 110CL Research Paper

Ace Collins prefaces his book by saying “Throughout our nation’s history, patriotic songs have lifted our spirits during hard times and brought us closer to our heritage and to each other” (Collins, preface). The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the fact that after the attack of the world trade centers on September 11, 2001, also known as 9/11, that an outpouring of patriotic songs were created. I plan to do this by talking about why this phenomenon occurred as well as what types of songs were created. As you read throughout the paper, ask yourself, why are songs that are created as the result of an event or occurrence so powerful.

On September 11, 2001 nineteen militants associated with the Islamic Extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners. They were on a suicide mission and they wanted to kill as many Americans as possible. Two of the planes crashed into the World Trade Centers in New York while another crashed into the Pentagon located right outside of Washington DC, and yet another that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Over 3000 people were killed and more than four hundred of them were city officials like police officers and fire fighters (history.com)

This was a rough time for a lot of Americans. If you were not directly affected by the events of that day, you most likely knew somebody who was. The replay of accounts played over and over again on the screens of televisions, radio broadcasts, and the web. The event would create unity among a lot of the American people. On that day, in that moment, people bled red, white, and blue. Emotions were high. Sadness, anger, and confusion were at the forefront of those emotions. This created urgency in people, an urgency to send a message, to defend the defenseless, and to speak up about American pride.

Up to this point, there were not many current and relevant patriotic songs. Of course we had songs like the Star Spangled Banner, Yankee Doodle...