September 11, 2001, changed the world forever, and musicians across every genre responded with some very powerful music. From tribute tracks honoring first responders to more fiery political tracks, these songs show how people processed their grief and anger after 9/11.
Be sure to check out the Songs About 9/11 Playlist at the bottom of this page.
Best Songs About 9/11
1. “The Rising” – Bruce Springsteen
Lyric Sample: “Sky of blackness and sorrow, sky of love, sky of tears.”
This 2002 rock song is about a firefighter climbing the stairs of the World Trade Center knowing he may not come back down. Springsteen wrote it as a tribute to the first responders.
2. “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” – Toby Keith
Lyric Sample: “Oh, justice will be served, and the battle will rage, this big dog will fight when you rattle his cage.”
Keith’s song is about patriotic anger in the aftermath of 9/11. It became the most commercially successful and most argued-about country song of the post-9/11 era.
Related: CMA – Singles of the Year
3. “Grand Central Station” – Mary Chapin Carpenter
Lyric Sample: “An’ all these voices keep on asking me to take them to Grand Central Station.”
Inspired by an interview with a rescue worker, Chapin Carpenter’s 2004 folk song imagines a first responder guiding lost souls through New York City’s famous train terminal.
4. “Hole in the World” – Eagles
Lyric Sample: “There’s a hole in the world tonight, there’s a cloud of fear and sorrow.”
This 2003 rock song is all about the absence left by that day. Don Henley and Glenn Frey wrote it as a response to both the terrorist attacks and the wars that followed.
5. “Rules” – Wu-Tang Clan
Lyric Sample: “Who the man behind the World Trade massacres? Step up now.”
This hip-hop is about the anger felt by Americans after the attacks. They warn overseas enemies while showing love for their home state of New York.
6. “I Can’t See New York” – Tori Amos
Lyric Sample: “But I can’t see New York as I’m circling down through white cloud.”
Amos wrote this before the attacks but recorded it afterward, and the song’s perspective as a passenger on a plane descending toward New York had already become something else by the time it was released.
7. “On the Transmigration of Souls” – John Adams
This classical piece, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, blends orchestra instruments with recorded voices reading the names of victims from the World Trade Center.
8. “Tuesday Morning” – Melissa Etheridge
Lyric Sample: “He stood up on a Tuesday morning, in the terror he was brave.”
Etheridge wrote this rock song to pay tribute to Mark Bingham, one of the passengers who fought back against hijackers on Flight 93.
Related: Songs About Tuesday
9. “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” – Alan Jackson
Lyric Sample: “Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones, and pray for the ones who don’t know?”
This country track is about the experience of being an ordinary American on September 11th, with Jackson asking where people were and how they reacted when they heard the news.
10. “World on Fire” – Sarah McLachlan
Lyric Sample: “The world’s on fire, it’s more than I can handle.”
McLachlan responded to the global tension following the attacks with this 2003 pop ballad. Instead of focusing on anger, she used the track to promote international relief work and human connection.
Related: Songs About Fire
11. “Believe” – Yellowcard
Lyric Sample: “Think about the heroes saving life in the dark.”
Featuring actual audio recordings of New York firefighters, this 2003 song honors the bravery of emergency crews.
12. “The Last Fallen Hero” – The Charlie Daniels Band
Lyric Sample: “We’ll pay whatever price so the children of tomorrow can be free.”
Daniels released this southern rock track to support the families of victims and service members. The song focuses on American resilience and the duty to honor those who lost their lives.
13. “Covered in Rain” – John Mayer
Lyric Sample: “Standing by the missing signs at the CVS by the checkout line.”
Mayer wrote this blues-rock song as a sequel to his hit “City Love.” It’s about how a young couple’s romance changed in the city after September 11th.
14. “Let’s Roll” – Neil Young
Lyric Sample: “Let’s roll for freedom, let’s roll for love, we’re going after Satan on the wings of a dove.”
“Let’s Roll” is about the brave passengers on Flight 93. It tells the story of the passengers deciding to fight back against the hijackers to save lives on the ground.
15. “Skylines and Turnstiles” – My Chemical Romance
Lyric Sample: “Our memories blanket us, with friends we know, like fallout vapors.”
Frontman Gerard Way witnessed the towers fall in person, which inspired him to start My Chemical Romance and write this 2002 track. It’s the first song the band ever wrote together.
16. “If This Is Goodbye” – Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
Lyric Sample: “And I love you, whatever is waiting for me, if this is goodbye.”
This 2006 folk duet was inspired by the final phone calls made by victims trapped inside the World Trade Center towers. The lyrics focus on the loving words spoken to family members during those final moments.
17. “New New York” – The Cranberries
Lyric Sample: “Don’t crumble, don’t dismay, it’s a new New York today.”
The Cranberries showed their support for the United States with this 2002 track. It’s a message that the city would rebuild and come back stronger than before.
18. “Have You Forgotten?” – Darryl Worley
Lyric Sample: “Have you forgotten how it felt that day to see your homeland under fire?”
Worley’s 2003 hit country song urged listeners not to forget the pain of September 11th as time passed. It quickly became a key anthem for supporters of the military response overseas.
Related: CMA – Singles of the Year
19. “Elevator” – Box Car Racer
Lyric Sample: “The sunset stretched across this nighttime scene, I turned away as he came near the street below.”
Blink-182 members Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker recorded this alt-rock song for their 2002 side project after watching the news coverage unfold. It tells the story of someone trapped high in a burning building, facing an impossible choice.
20. “Undivided” – Bon Jovi
Lyric Sample: “That was my brother lost in the rubble, that was my sister lost in the crush.”
Bon Jovi’s 2002 song is about the way the 9/11 tragedy temporarily united people across different backgrounds.
21. “Makeshift Patriot” – Sage Francis
Lyric Sample: “Using commercial aviation as instruments of destruction, pregnant women couldn’t protect their children.”
Indie hip-hop artist Sage Francis recorded this track just weeks after the attacks. He critiques the way the media and politicians used the national panic to push war and restrict personal freedom.
22. “Sacrificed Sons” – Dream Theater
Lyric Sample: “Heads all turning towards the sky, towers crumble, heroes die.”
Progressive metal band Dream Theater dedicated this ten-minute 2005 track to the victims of the attack. Frontman James LaBrie questions why the terrorists decided to do it.
23. “Little Did She Know (She’d Kissed a Hero)” – Kristy Jackson
Lyric Sample: “And when he left for work that morning he was just another guy, going to work, he’d have to fly.”
Kristy Jackson wrote this from the perspective of a woman who kisses her husband goodbye as he leaves for a flight on September 11th. He ends up being one of the hero passengers on Flight 93.
24. “Into The Fire” – Bruce Springsteen
Lyric Sample: “I heard you callin’ me, then, you disappeared into the dust.”
Springsteen wrote this to honor emergency workers heading up the stairs of the World Trade Center towers. The song is about the courage it takes to carry on no matter what’s in front of you.
25. “On That Day” – Leonard Cohen
Lyric Sample: “I’m just holding the fort since that day they wounded New York.”
Cohen’s 2004 song is about the impossibility of making full sense of the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
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