Remembering 9/11

This is the first time I heard this heartfelt song and I must say, truly a very strong and emotional one.

Country superstar Alan Jackson says it best himself -- "I'm not a real political man" -- in his most famous ballad. Indeed, the Georgia artist's songwriting has centered on the traditional country voice of everyday working people, leading ordinary lives.

The song he penned several weeks after Sept. 11, 2001 -- "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" -- was an emotional example of that tradition, but it catapulted Jackson's career by articulating what thousands of other not "real political" men and women felt and thought on that day.
Across the country, listeners nodded in unison to Jackson's lyrics, which somehow captured the multitude of emotions a nation felt after one terrible morning:

Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?

Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin' against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white, and blue
And the heroes who died just doin' what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?
I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love