September 11th, 2001. A time of heartache, fear and a coming together that America hasn't seen in a long time. Where were you on 9/11? Were you in a classroom, where the teachers were instructed to tell you nothing? Did you know someone who was a hero?
Yellowcard's song, "Believe", recorded sometime in 2002 and released in 2003, pays tribute to those heroes, those men and women that lost their lives on that day:
The song has us think about what the saviors went through, "climbing higher through the fire", a mantra that goes through the minds of those in danger to calm, "everything is going to be alright, be strong, believe". An assurance that they will get through this.
The song is told through the point of view of the person being saved from the chaos. There's thanks for letting them see their families again, for giving up their lives even though it wasn't clear if they're lives would be saved too.
In the background, and excerpt from Mayor Michael Bloomberg's speech the year after is heard:
"Again today, we take into our hearts and minds those who perished on this site, one year ago, and also those who came to toil in the rubble to bring order out of chaos, and helo us make sense of our despair."
This excerpt drives Yellowcard's meaning even further, hearing a speech commemorating the victims of 9/11. The use of political rhetoric and musical rhetoric in one, gives an even deeper meaning to the song, it unites two fronts.
Another excerpt is heard, an even more famous one, one that united the nation at a different time:
"The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."
The Gettysburg Address, read by New York Governor George Pataki, was used during the Civil War. The original speech was read at the site of the Battle of Gettyburg (one of the bloodiest battle of the war) to give thanks to those who lost their lives for the war. Governor Pataki repeated the speech at the one year memorial of 9/11 to do the same, but instead in the memory of those who lost their lives in the start of the "War on Terror".
Yellowcard combines their lyrics and the speeches to create a rhetorical song that persuades the listeners to give thanks for the heroes of 9/11, and to never forget the event.
Photo by: jonathaneric on Flickr.com
I've listened to this song for years and never listened close enough to the words to understand what it was talking about. I'm feeling pretty stupid about that now. It's nice to see that bands, like Yellowcard, are using their music to commemorate.
ReplyDeleteI love Yellowcard and I love this song. It's beautiful in so many ways. I was in the 4th grade, we had just learned about the Pentagon the day before, and all of the faculty were instructed to not tell us anything. They just said we had to go to church and pray (but they refused to tell us WHY). They said our parents would tell us if need be. We had a family friend who was supposed to go to work that day, but he decided to stay home instead. But I can remember for those few hours where we didn't know what was going on, it was terrifying. And the news just kept playing it over and over again, as if to drill in the point. I didn't know that they read the Gettysburg Address, wonderful speech as well. Great post Ali!
ReplyDeleteIt's so inspiring to see that many stars and stuff, especially musicians, use their talents and wealth to commemorate. Hearing this song and everything it entails just breaks my heart, but in a positive way. Thank you for sharing!
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