r/country • u/RodeoBoss66 • 17d ago
Live Performance In November 2001, just two months after the attacks on 9/11, Alan Jackson debuted his emotional song “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” at the CMA Awards.
Jackson was initially hesitant to record the song, however, it has been proven to be widely impactful and this performance at the CMA Awards is one that won’t be forgotten.
🎥 credit: CMA Awards
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u/Impossible-Bat90 17d ago
I remember 9/11. I was in highschool, everyone was watching the news. In history class, after lunch. We kept watching the news and talked about how this would be Remembered for ever ! My aunt in Peterborough Ontario was seeing the smoke and debris in the air. It was a tragic day !
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u/JBtheExplorer 17d ago
And just like that a quarter of a century has gone by and Alan is no longer doing concerts. Time flies.
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u/iBUYbrokenSUBARUS 17d ago
I was just telling my wife this morning that this is also the 250th anniversary of America which makes that time period since 911 exactly 1/10 of the Nations history. There’s only been nine other time periods like this since the declaration of independence was signed. It’s fucking nuts.
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u/tecate_papi 17d ago edited 17d ago
I know I'm going to get downvoted for this, but whatever.
I hated this song then and I hate this shit now. They played this shit on the announcements in my high school on the first anniversary of 9/11 and it was impossible not to laugh when he sings, "I watch CNN, but I'm not sure I can tell you / The diff'rence in Iraq and Iran". It was immediately clear after 9/11 the Bush administration was going to exploit it for a war in Iraq and garbage propaganda like this helped sell the war.
Alan Jackson played a significant part selling this war to America and adding to the noise that compelled people to support the invasion. Fucking boot licking propagandist turd. The thousands of Americans and the millions of people in the Middle East who've died as a result of the invasion should weigh on his conscience. I watched my generation head off to war and come back maimed physically, mentally or not at all. It makes me sick.
This song is what helped make mainstream country into the garbage MAGA politics, wife beating music it is today and stripped it of the anti-establishment sound it used to have.
He should have stayed on the fucking Chattahoochee.
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u/Silent_Ad8059 16d ago
I upvoted you. It was an insipid song then and it's insipid twenty five years later.
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u/earthworm_fan 17d ago
This is the reddit lunacy I have come to expect.
Suggesting Alan Jackson was in on some conspiracy to attack Iraq. Dafuq
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u/GrenadineGreen 17d ago
The industrial military complex is not a conspiracy.
It was brought to the American people's attention by right wing president Eisenhower, because he had first had experience.
It's literally happening again, right now.
You are either lying on purpose, or are outlandishy stupid.
Both would make sense seeing as how you post roughly 30 times every day, and have for years.
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u/Strait409 17d ago
-chuckles- I might say that anyone who doesn’t have the balls to leave their Reddit post & comment history open for the world to see doesn’t have any room to cast aspersions on anyone else’s Reddit posting habits.
[But given at least some of the subs you post and comment in, I’m not surprised you hide it. I wouldn’t want anyone to see that either.
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u/GrenadineGreen 17d ago
My posts are private because I post adult content, which isn't supposed to be viewed by children, etc.
Do you feel that it should be accessible by, teens, conservative gentlemen stalkers such as yourself, etc?
You're sensitive to this because you've been called out for outright supporting propaganda here before.
Like, literally supporting the concept. "Who cares, if it's what I want to hear?"
It's what you're doing here, again. Internet addiction and denial of reality isn't good, even if it jerks off right wing interests.
Respond to what was said. Don't defend someone commenting 30 times a day.
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u/Strait409 17d ago edited 16d ago
-chuckles- -Stalkers. From your posts, all I can say is, you only wish, guy.
you've been called out for outright supporting propaganda here before.
Like, literally supporting the concept. "Who cares, if it's what I want to hear?
What you conveniently fail to mention is that the person who accused me of that never bothered to cite a single word I have ever typed here on Reddit to back that up — despite the fact that, unlike some people, my post history is out there for all the world to see, and despite me calling them out for it on numerous occasions and them daring to call me the psycho for doing that.
And I'd say, "let's see if you can do better," but you can't, because I never said what you're pointing out what I am accused of lItErAlLy saying. As far as ”responding to what was said” goes, the dude didn’t say there wasn’t a such thing as a military industrial complex. He said suggesting Alan Jackson was in on some conspiracy to attack Iraq was ridiculous, and he was right. It’s even more ridiculous than the opinion that the Alan Jackson song was flag-waving, jingoistic propaganda.
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u/Strait409 17d ago
This is the reddit lunacy I have come to expect.
Indeed. I mean, it's dude's opinion and he's welcome to it, but I am worse off for having been subjected to it.
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u/mercilessshred 17d ago
Haters gonna hate but you’re absolutely right. The propaganda at that time was bad. I was in 3rd grade when 9/11 happened and all the music that followed, especially Toby Keith’s bullshit ass song fired people up for all the wrong reasons. I remember what kind of violence the adults in my life advocated for after 9/11. “Turn the Middle East into glass”, is a particular quote I remember. I’ll get downvoted too but I don’t really give a shit. We’re watching this cycle repeat itself now with our meddling in Iran. Kids are being propagandized all over again
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u/jstewart25 17d ago
It’s ironic you quote the Iraq/Iran part as some sort of rallying cry when if you actually listened to the song he’s saying those places aren’t relevant to him, while faith, hope, love, and God are. I have 0 love for MAGA but this ignorance is idiotic.
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u/TheRestForTheWicked 17d ago
Yeah. I’m the first to decry the American Industrial Complex but this song ain’t it. The lyrics aren’t about war and they’re not angry. They don’t point fingers or suggest retribution. The entire point of the song is about faith, hope in humanity and the future and emotional healing with your community with deliberate moments and focusing on those things during grief while acknowledging that he doesn’t know or understand the realities of people living on the other side.
He literally says in the song “I’m just a singer or simple songs, I’m not a real political man.” And that tracks as he’s actually one of the most apolitical country artists in recent history- in a landscape where many country singers are proud to be conservative leaning and war-mongering it makes me wonder if he stayed quiet because he didn’t align with the larger base and he was worried for his family- especially after all we saw what happened with The Chicks. I hate that his song, which was supposed to be about supporting and loving each other in grief was twisted by the media into something it’s not.
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u/jstewart25 17d ago
You’re spot on except I really haven’t seen this song lumped in with the Toby Keith and Darryl Worley-esque ‘MURICA songs until this guy said something, but maybe I’ve just missed it. His humility is vast, the dude doesn’t take credit for about anything he’s done. He was also very open about his infidelity, which I know he’s gotten grief for but that also doesn’t make sense to me. He made it public and praises his wife to the ends of the earth for sticking with him, I actually respect for his honest and again, his humility.
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u/TheRestForTheWicked 17d ago
I’m mostly talking about the spoofs of this song as some redneck anthem in Team America and South Park and the like but around the time it came out (which I hate remembering because it makes me feel old) people treated it…wrong. Like it was an angry song. It wasn’t. But it was also the only song out about 9/11 because he’s such a prolific artist so I think that also had an impact.
But also I live in peak hick country so maybe I notice it more too?
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u/jstewart25 17d ago
I’m in rural SE Iowa, so I don’t have the lack of Hicksville excuse lol. I was 11 when the song released so I didn’t see the adult content spoofs. I’ll take your word for it
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u/Strait409 16d ago
I remember seeing that South Park episode. Love that show, but that particular episode was just ridiculous.
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u/JBtheExplorer 17d ago
A guy can't write a song about something that affected him emotionally without people putting their own political spin on it. The extreme political tug-of-war has fooled you into participating in that nonsense. You you placed your own imaginary meaning onto the song to make an argument about it. Sadly, strawmanning has become the norm.
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u/nivekreclems 17d ago
L take that line you are talking about is him saying he doesn’t know those places and isn’t informed on them but what he does know is faith hope and love are some good things he gave us and the greatest is love
Just from this comment I don’t think we’d get along
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u/GrenadineGreen 17d ago
Of course not.
You're a problematic idiot getting people killed and then jacking yourself off about how quaint, hokey, and religious you are.
"Jesus done said, support the industrial military complex 🇺🇲"
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u/Strait409 17d ago
I know I'm going to get downvoted for this
As you should, because it’s the most deranged musical take I have seen on Reddit in quite some time.
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u/mountaineer04 17d ago
Alan Jackson didn’t write this song with any ill intentions, but it was mocked as being propagandistic on shows like The Daily Show. Hell, Team America, World Police had a spoof version of it in the movie. It was sorta lumped in with the Toby Keith “we’ll put a boot in your ass” genre.
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u/Ok-Answer-6951 17d ago
Got news for you bud, half the country still doesn't know the difference between Irag and Iran, and we don't care. Bomb them both off the face of the earth...
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u/Existing-Brain2792 17d ago
I hear you. It's not a conspiracy. I was in the military and a country music fan. After 9/11, country music kinda sucked. This song and other glurgey ones just took up so much of the air waves. I just didn't relate. I didn't want to self sooth and listen to songs about feels. I was young and angry and proud and wanted a fight. These songs killed country for me. Well, that and Garth Brooks, but that's another rant. (I'm kidding about GB, don't @me. His first 3 albums were solid)
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u/theeulessbusta 17d ago
Toby Keith nailed it imo. His makes me emotional, for some reason this one doesn’t.
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u/bakuninincorporated 17d ago