A 9/11 Tribute I did in 2001

September 11, 2001...Within one hour after the second plane struck the World Trade Center, everybody in the world knew it was a terrorist attack on the United States. Everybody was angry, and there were many different reactions. Most noticeably was the congress singing God Bless America on the steps of the capitol building. Even though we all knew the 'unity' that was shown there would only last another 20 minutes, it was still cool to see, even if certain politicians were only doing it for a photo op. Other people wrote parody songs. I was living in Clarksville, TN at the time, which is near Ft. Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division. One of the songs I remember was from the Nashville rock station was a parody of AC/DC's For Those About to Rock, We Salute You called For Those About to Fight, We Salute You. In that town, everyone knew what was about to happen, and spirits were high. The soldiers knew a deployment was coming, and they were excited to go.

Within 5 days of the attacks, I had written a parody of Queen's We Will Rock You/ We Are the Champions called We Will Bomb You/ We Are Americans. I scheduled time in a friend's recording studio for 2 weeks later. I started practicing and learning my lyrics. They aren't simply a new set of lyrics written over the music. These lyrics fit and flow the way the lyrics do in the original song. You'll notice this when you listen to it.

So, the day arrived when I was going to go into the studio and record my tribute, but I got sick! Strep throat! I talked to my friend, and he told me to go ahead and try it, and if I couldn't do it, he would schedule me another time after I got over the strep throat. I agreed, and we went in, and I started recording. After a warm up and a few beers, I didn't notice my throat as much, or maybe I didn't care. Who knows? Anyway, once I warmed up, I was okay and did the song in 2 takes. I did it well enough not to need to do it again after I was over the strep throat.

We burned about 10 copies, and took them to bars and a couple radio stations. It was played on the Clarksville rock station as well as the Nashville rock station. People started requesting copies, and we started burning them with a label that I designed. We then started handing them out at bars. We handed out between 150 and 200 CDs. The majority of CDs were grabbed by soldiers about to deploy. I know for a fact that the song was played in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention Germany and Korea, and wherever else the US has a base.

It felt good to know that something I did served to lend morale to our troops. So, here it is. For the first time since 2001-2002, in memory of those lost, and those who fought and continue to fight for our freedom, We Will Bomb You/ We Are Americans. Words written and sung by yours truly. Enjoy it. Its a little out dated, but you get the point.

Here is the song, along with a slideshow I put together. (watch it on YouTube. Bigger screen.)

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