Proud to Be an Amerikan

So speaking of scary stuff, I have another ‘traumatic experience’ while watching the news at SXSW moment to relate (note, I didn’t spend all of SXSW in front of the boob tube, both this and the CNN Crossfire thing were caught flipping the news channels for about 15 minutes before the Bruce Sterling party [and before I found and vegged on the really bad original Buffy movie on HBO before taking off]).

CNN had a live performance from some country singer with a ‘controversial’ new song, where he sang all kinds of mawkish jingoistic whatnot to slow-motion 9/11 footage. It gets you right there, if you know what I mean. After mentioning it to a friend, I looked it up, and via some slight google-fu, found the guy in some writeups, David Worley.

Here’s an RM for you’re aural pleasure. Oh, and the lyrics, you’ll love this (if you’re using IE, give Jesse’s paren_tips bookmarklet a try):

‘Have You Forgotten?’ lyrics
Verse

I hear people saying we don’t need this war

I say there’s some things worth fighting for

What about our freedom and this piece of ground

We didn’t get to keep ’em by backing down

They say we don’t realize the mess we’re getting in

Before you start your preaching let me ask you this my friend

Chorus

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?

To see your homeland under fire

And her people blown away

Have you forgotten when those towers fell?

We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell

And you say we shouldn’t worry ’bout bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

Verse

They took all the footage off my T.V.

Said it’s too disturbing for you and me

It’ll just breed anger that’s what the experts say

If it was up to me I’d show it everyday

Some say this country’s just out looking for a fight

After 9/11 man I’d have to say that’s right

Repeat chorus
Bridge

I’ve been there with the soldiers

Who’ve gone away to war

And you can bet that they remember

Just what they’re fighting for

Chorus 3

Have you forgotten all the people killed?

Some went down like heros in that Pennsylvania field

Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?

All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on

Don’t you tell me not to worry about bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

Tag

Have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten?

Wow, can you say it with me? Wow. I think it speaks for itself.