List of songs about the September 11 attacks

This list contains musical works which were inspired by or contain lyrics referring to the September 11 attacks.

Artist/composerTitleAlbumYearDescription
Emilie Autumn"By The Sword"2001Released as a charity single.[1][2]
Dan Bern"NYC 911" (Unreleased)2001[3]
The Charlie Daniels Band"This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag"Live! (bonus track)2001
Cher"Song for the Lonely"Living Proof2001
Curse"Nichts Wird Mehr So Sein Wie Es War"n/a, released as a free download2001
Sage Francis"Makeshift Patriot"Released as a single2001Lyrics include "Don't waive your rights with your flags"
Kristy Jackson"Little Did She Know (She'd Kissed a Hero)"Released as a single2001Written in response to the 9/11 Tragedy. The song makes reference to a passenger on Flight 93.[4] Responses to the song were later turned into a book.[5]
Michael Jackson"What More Can I Give"n/a (never released)2001Performed at an October 2001 benefit concert. Originally intended as a benefit single, but it was never released commercially.[6]
Srpski Talibani"Gori Njujork"Srpski Talibani Slusajte dok vas ne uhvate za2001Anti-american song from Republika Srpska.[7]
Toby Keith"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)"Unleashed2001Toby Keith wrote this song in response to his father's death and the 9/11 attacks in 2001. At first, he was reluctant to record the song and decided to only play it live for military personnel. Later however, Marine Corps General James L. Jones convinced him to record it saying that it was his "duty as an American citizen to record the song."[8]
Live"Overcome"V2001
Lonestar"I'm Already There"I'm Already There2001
Paul McCartney"Freedom"Driving Rain2001[9]
Petey Pablo"Raise Up (USA Flag Remix)"2001
Cary Pierce of Jackopierce"I Believe in America"I Believe in America2001Released 30 October 2001
Smash Mouth"Out Of Sight"Smash Mouth2001As they were in the process of creating their self titled album, the attacks occurred. The song was dedicated to the victims.
Taylor Swift"Didn't They?"Unreleased2001
The Weepies"Safe as Houses"Released Online2001
Wu-Tang Clan"Rules"Iron Flag2001[10]
Tori Amos"I Can't See New York"Scarlet's Walk2002The song describes the experience of an airplane passenger on September 11, 2001, circling over New York City and unable to see the World Trade Center.[11]
William BasinskiThe Disintegration Loops2002[12]
Bon Jovi"Undivided"Bounce2002
Bon Jovi"Another Reason To Believe"Bounce2002
Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora"America The Beautiful"2002
Box Car Racer"Elevator"Box Car Racer2002This song was written from the perspective of a jumper from the towers and from the perspective of someone watching from below.
Box Car Racer"Watch The World"Box Car Racer2002Lyrics include "I watched the smoke, as it grew darker, and blew up through the roof. I watched the fed, saw them panic as the fire grew. I saw Virginia, get rid of Langley, and its secrets too."
Camel"For Today"A Nod and a Wink2002
The Charlie Daniels Band"The Last Fallen Hero"Redneck Fiddlin' Man2002
Coldplay"Politik"A Rush of Blood to the Head2002Written the day of the attacks. Chris Martin told NME that it reflects his realization of mortality after 9/11.[13]
CranberriesThe Cranberries"New New York"Stars: The Best of 1992–20022002[10]
Steven Curtis Chapman"Remember the Day"2002"Remember the day/The courage the valor/We ran to the towers/At such a great cost"
DC Talk"Let's Roll"Let's Roll: Together in Unity, Faith, and Hope2002
Bo Diddley"We Ain't Scared of You" (a.k.a. "My Eagle Is Pissed")2002
Ani DiFranco"Self Evident"So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter2002This spoken word performance uses the 9/11 attacks as a way to criticize the US government.
DJ Sammy"Heaven" (9/11 Remix)2002
Linda Eder"If I Had My Way"Gold2002
Linda Eder"If I Should Lose My Way"Gold2002
Eminem"My Dad's Gone Crazy"The Eminem Show2002Lyrics include: "More pain inside of my brain than the eyes of a little girl inside of a plane aimed at the World Trade"[14]
Glassjaw"Tip Your Bartender"Worship and Tribute2002
Gorillaz feat. D12 & Terry Hall"911"Bad Company (soundtrack)2002[3]
Jack Hardy"Ground Zero"Vigil2002Released on a benefit album organized by Suzanne Vega, entirely of original songs about 9/11.[6]
Alan Jackson"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"Drive2002[15]
Bert Jansch"Bright Sunny Morning"Edge Of A Dream2002Lyrics include "With both towers ablaze the world watches on TV / It's all there for the whole world to see / Yeah, it took twenty minutes to change history."
Toby Keith"My List"Pull My Chain2002Tells about a firefighter who decides to spend more time with his family after witnessing the 9/11 attacks on TV.
Killswitch Engage"Life to Lifeless"Alive or Just Breathing2002
Talib Kweli"The Proud"Quality2002A 9-11-oriented tribute.[16]
L.A. Guns"OK, Let's Roll"Waking the Dead2002
Christine Lavin"Firehouse"Vigil2002Released on a benefit album organized by Suzanne Vega, entirely of original songs about 9/11.[6]
Megaherz"Glas Und Tränen"Herzwerk II2002Literally "Glass And Tears" (and originally titled "Blut Und Tränen", "Blood And Tears"), contains an account of the violent atmosphere during and ideologies behind the attacks.[17]
Megaherz"I.M. Rumpelstilzchen"Herzwerk II2002From the point of view of a double agent employed by a tyrannical government; about the paranoid global political climate after the attacks.[18]
Moby"Harbour"182002[3]
My Chemical Romance"Skylines and Turnstiles"I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love2002Gerard Way wrote this song after witnessing the 9/11 attacks while on his way to work. He formed My Chemical Romance after witnessing the Twin Towers fall and this was the first ever song written by the band. Lyrics detail the mundane lives of New Yorkers on their way to their jobs and the immediate change they faced after the attacks, describing the empty sky without the towers as a "broken city sky, stolen from [his] eyes" and the towers themselves as "steel corpses stretched out towards an ending sun."[19]
Carrie Newcomer"I Heard an Owl"The Gathering of Spirits2002Written in response to the 9/11 attacks. Chorus starts "so don't tell me hate is ever right or god's will"
No Use for a Name"Insecurity Alert"Hard Rock Bottom2002
Tom Paxton"The Bravest"Looking for the Moon2002
Porcupine Tree"Collapse the Light Into Earth"In Absentia2002[20]
Renaud and Axelle Red"Manhattan-Kaboul"Boucan d'enfer (Renauld)2002"Deals with the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York"[21]
Rush"Peaceable Kingdom"Vapor Trails2002
Sleater-Kinney"Far Away"One Beat2002The song contrast's President George W. Bush's actions on September 11, when he was flown away to a secure location, with those of the emergency responders at the World Trade Center.[11]
Michael W. Smith"There She Stands"Worship Again2002[22]
Bruce Springsteen"Countin' on a Miracle"The Rising2002
"Empty Sky"Told from the point of view of a person longing for one last moment with their spouse who was killed in the attacks.
"Into the Fire"Told from the point of view of a spouse of a firefighter.
"Lonesome Day"
"Mary's Place"Told from the point of view of a widow who lost their spouse in the attacks. A friend has invited this person to a party at "Mary's Place" to help with moving on.
"Paradise"
"The Fuse"A smoldering blend of lust and loss, having sex as a means to feel anything after tragedy.
"The Rising""A religious-tinged reflection on the events of the day that focuses on a firefighter at Ground Zero."[3][23]
"You're Missing"About how a family must continue to function after the Father is killed in the attacks.
SR-71"Truth"Tomorrow2002
W.A.S.P."Hallowed Ground"Dying for the World2002
Neil Young"Let's Roll"Are You Passionate?2002
Blue Man Group"Exhibit 13"The Complex2003This song was written in response to the attacks, as all three members of the original Blue Man Group were in Manhattan at the time.[24]
50 Cent"Patiently Waiting"Get Rich or Die Tryin'2003Lyrics include: "Sit and politic with passengers from 9/11." and "Shady Records was eighty seconds away from the towers."[25]
Mary Chapin Carpenter"Grand Central Station"Between Here and Gone2003This song is inspired by an interview with an iron worker who worked at Ground Zero that Carpenter watched. It is told from the point of view of the iron worker.[26]
CunninLynguists"Appreciation"SouthernUnderground2003
Dusty Drake"One Last Time"Dusty Drake2003
The Dresden Dolls"Truce"The Dresden Dolls2003Lyrics include: "I am the ground zero ex-friend you ordered, disguised as a hero to get past your borders" and "I am the tower around which you orbited, I am not proud, I am just taking orders. I fall to the ground within hours of impact."
Eagles"Hole in the World"The Very Best Of2003Don Henley began writing this song on September 11.
Echo Helstrom"Floor 104"Echo Helstrom2003Bandleader Ross Seligman's stepbrother died in the attack; the song ends with the refrain "please don’t go / please don’t go / to work today / to work today".
Evanescence"My Last Breath"Fallen2003
Everclear"The New York Times"Slow Motion Daydream2003
Mary Fahl"The Dawning of the Day"The Other Side of Time2003Fahl's version of the traditional Irish tune "The Dawning of the Day" was featured in the film version of the Broadway play The Guys.
Fleetwood Mac"Illume (9-11)"Say You Will2003
David Francey"Grim Cathedral"Skating Rink2003"Grim Cathedral" reflects the jingoism and Nationalism that arose following 9/11.
Amy Grant"I Don't Know Why"Simple Things2003
Lagwagon"Never Stops"Blaze2003Commentary on the immediate aftermath and American response in the days following 9/11.
Living Colour"Flying"Collideøscope2003From the perspective of a man who gets the nerve to ask out a woman in the World Trade Center moments before the first plane hits, and the couple then jump from the burning building to their deaths.[27]
Rod MacDonald"My Neighbors In Delray"Recognition2003A portrait of the hijackers, 13 of whom lived in Delray Beach, FL just prior to September 11, 2001.
John Mayer"Covered in Rain"As/Is2003
Audra McDonald"I'll Be Here"Go Back Home (album)2003From the musical "Ordinary Days"[28]
Sarah McLachlan"World on Fire"Afterglow2003[29]
Bret Michaels"One More Day"Songs of Life2003
Paris"What Would You Do?"Sonic Jihad2003About 9-11 conspiracy theories.[30]
The Stills"Let's Roll"Logic Will Break Your Heart2003
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros"Ramshackle Day Parade"Streetcore2003
Sworn Enemy"Sworn Enemy"As Real as It Gets2003
Thriving Ivory"Angels on the Moon"Thriving Ivory2003
Darryl Worley"Have You Forgotten?"Have You Forgotten?2003The song is about the horror of the attacks, with lyrics including "Have you forgotten when those towers fell? / We had neighbors still inside going through a living hell."[11]
Yellowcard"Believe"Ocean Avenue2003The song is about rescue workers, and integrates news reports.[16]
Ryan Adams"My Blue Manhattan"Love Is Hell2004Lyrics include: "Fire and rain on the streets."[31]
Amps for Christ"AFC Tower Song"The People at Large2004
Autopilot Off"The 12th Day"Make a Sound2004
Beastie Boys"An Open Letter to NYC"To the 5 Boroughs2004A general song about New York City, includes the lyrics "since 9/11, we're still livin' and lovin', life we've been given." and "two towers down, but you're still in the game."[32]
Black 47"Mychal"New York Town2004
Leonard Cohen"On That Day"Dear Heather2004[30]
Melissa Etheridge"Tuesday Morning"Lucky2004This song is dedicated to Mark Bingham, one of the four passengers of Flight 93 that wrestled the controls of the plane away from the hijackers.
Iced Earth"When the Eagle Cries"The Glorious Burden2004
Jadakiss"Why"Kiss of Death2004Lyrics include "Why did Bush knock down the Towers?"
Lucy Kaplansky"Land of the Living"The Red Thread2004
Manic Street Preachers"Empty Souls"Lifeblood2004Contains the line "Collapsing like the Twin Towers" (however, this was changed to "Collapsing like dying flowers" for the single release).
Misia feat. Erykah Badu"Akai Inochi" (Red Destiny)Mars & Roses2004An anti-war song which speaks about how the events of 9/11 turned the "seemingly distant existence of war into the reality of now".[33]
Scarling."Alexander The Burn Victim"Sweet Heart Dealer2004
Tesla"Heaven Nine Eleven"Into the Now2004
Twista feat. Faith Evans"Hope"Kamikaze2004"Wish God never gave the men power/

To be able to hurt the people inside the Twin Towers"[34]

Within Temptation"Stand My Ground"The Silent Force and also as additional tracks on some releases of The Heart of Everything2004
Addek"Way Down South/Religion of War"Hip Hop 9/112005This track includes samples from news stories about the actual attacks.
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead"Worlds Apart"Worlds Apart2005"How they laugh as we shovelled the ashes of the Twin Towers / Blood and death, we will pay back the debt of this candy store of ours"
Dream Theater"Sacrificed Sons"Octavarium2005Opens with samples of 9/11 news broadcasts; the song itself is about the attack on the World Trade Center and its aftermath
Goldfinger feat. Mest & Good Charlotte"The Innocent"The Best of Goldfinger2005
Juliana Hatfield"Hole in the Sky"Made In China2005About the gap in the Manhattan skyline left by the destruction of the Twin Towers.[10]
Immortal Technique"Bin Laden"Released as a single2005Attributes much of the blame for 9/11 to U.S. foreign policy.[30]
James LaBrie"Smashed"Elements of Persuasion2005
Will Smith feat. Mary J. Blige"Tell Me Why"Lost and Found2005[16]
John Vanderslice"Exodus Damage"Pixel Revolt2005The second verse describes the narrator watching the second plane hitting the World Trade Center on television, as well as the lack of immediate military response to the attacks.[10]
Wheatus"Hometown"TooSoonMonsoon2005A love song to the group's hometown, New York, which thinks wistfully back to a time when the twin towers completed the New York skyline.

Includes the lyrics “I swear it was beautiful before they sent those aeroplanes.”[35]

Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris"If This Is Goodbye"All the Roadrunning2006Inspired by Ian McEwan's piece in The Guardian.[36]
Ministry"Lieslieslies"Rio Grande Blood2006[10]
Delfín Quishpe"Torres Gemelas"2006[37]
Sabaton"In The Name of God"Attero Dominatus2006Not only 9/11 but terrorism in general
Slayer"Jihad"Christ Illusion2006[16]
Scott Walker"Jesse"The Drift2006Presents the attack on the Twin Towers as a nightmare had by Elvis Presley and described to his own stillborn twin, Jesse Garon Presley.[38]
Arcade Fire"(Antichrist Television Blues)"Neon Bible2007Lyrics include: "I don't want to work in a building downtown; I don't know what I'm going to do, 'cause the planes keep crashing, always two by two."
Bloc Party"Hunting for Witches"A Weekend in the City2007This song is about frontman Kele Okereke's observations on the media response to terrorist attacks after the September 11 attacks[39]
Dawnstar"Don't Die A Martyr For Me"Change the World2007Lyrics include: "I wanted to be a suicide bomber but she changed my life, I fell in love with her"[40]
Serj Tankian"Empty Walls"Elect The Dead2007[41]
Suzanne Vega"Angel's Doorway"Beauty & Crime2007The song follows a police officer stationed at Ground Zero[42]
"Anniversary"The song is set in New York City on the one-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks and discusses how New Yorkers' lives have changed.[43][44]
"Zephyr and I"Refers to the "fireman’s monument, where all the fatherless teenagers go"[45]
Velvet Revolver"Messages"Libertad (iTunes release)2007
Sheryl Crow"God Bless this Mess"Detours2008Linked 9-11 with the Gulf War.[30]
Sheryl Crow"Out of Our Heads"Detours2008About the courage shown on 9-11; also criticizes Bush as giving a manipulative television address on that day.[16]
James"Hey Ma"Hey Ma2008Addresses the price paid for revenge[10]
Libera and Peter Skellern"Rest in Peace"New Dawn2008Written by Peter Skellern to honor those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks, as well as those who died in WWI and WWII.
Star Fucking Hipsters"9/11 Was (An Inside Joke)"Until We're Dead2008
Testament"The Evil Has Landed"The Formation of Damnation2008
Thrice"Broken Lungs"The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV2008
Lily Allen"Him"It's Not Me, It's You2009Lyrics include "Ever since we can remember, people have died in his good name, long before that September, long before hijacking planes."
Rekha Bhardwaj"Ranaji"Gulaal (movie)2009Gulaal Soundtrack album by Piyush Mishra
The Empire Shall Fall"Choir of Angels"Awaken2009Enoch "IXXI" Bog
Five for Fighting"Tuesday"Slice2009Five for Fighting's "Superman," released in late 2000, also became an unofficial anthem for the first responders in the days following the attacks[46]
Peter Hammill"Ghosts of planes"Thin Air2009
Immortal Technique"The Cause of Death"Revolutionary Vol. 22009
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys"Empire State of Mind"The Blueprint 32009The song is largely about New York City in general, but includes the line "Long live the World Trade."
Fear Factory"Controlled Demolition"Mechanize2010
And One"Seven"Tanzomat2011Lyrics include: "Grey smoke hit the ground; Seven came down without a sound; Rich man company; WTC mystery" (a reference to the September 11 attacks and the mystery third white plane which has caused some speculation)
Beyoncé"I Was Here"42011Beyonce has said that this song was inspired by the September 11 attacks.[47]
Kate Bush feat. Elton John"Snowed in at Wheeler Street"50 Words for Snow2011"9/11 in New York, I took your photograph."
Childish Gambino"Freaks and Geeks"Camp2011Lyrics include "This beat is a disaster, 9/11 this track."[48]
Lupe Fiasco"Words I Never Said"Lasers2011Includes the lyrics: "I really think the War on Terror is a bunch of bullshit, just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets, how much money does it take to really make a full clip, 9/11, building 7, did they really pull it?"
John Hiatt"When New York Had Her Heart Broke"Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns2011
Imagine Dragons"America"Night Visions2011Lyrics include "From farmers in the fields, to the tallest of the towers that fall and rise, 1-7-7-6, the names upon the list, for all the ones that gave until they died."[49]
The Low Anthem"Boeing 737"Smart Flesh2011
The Oak Ridge Boys"Sacrifice...For Me"It's Only Natural2011
Steve Reich"WTC 9/11"WTC 9/112011
Jack Warshaw"United 93"Good Road2011Lyrics include "United 93, remember their names

Come tell of the time on that great silver plane The bravest band of travellers that ever flew the sky Said "We’re bound to fight ‘cause we know we’re bound to die." [50]

Ween"Love Come Down (09-11-01)"The Caesar Demos2011Was recorded on the day of the attacks
Nell Bryden"Sirens"Shake The Tree (album)2012This song was written by New York singer Nell Bryden and Patrick Mascall and was later covered by Cher on her Closer to the Truth album
Jackyl"Open Invitation (I Hate You Bin Laden)"Best in Show2012[51]
Jeff Powers"Tall Buildings (9/11)"JeffPowers2012
ミラクルミュージカル(Miracle Musical)"Variations on a Cloud"Released as a single; described as the "0th Track" of the album Hawaii: Part II2012The original music video, now taken down by Youtube, contained footage of the attacks. The song was released on 9/11 of 2012, its music video on 9/11 of 2015, and was brought back to streaming sites 9/11 of 2021 after being taken down in August of that year.
Lily Kershaw"Ashes Like Snow"Midnight in the Garden2013Originally written as a poem,[52] "Ashes Like Snow" is about the September 11 attacks. Lyrics include: "A strange dance from the towers in the sky", "Fire so hot at their backs, better to hit the ground".
MellowHype"Decoy"Mellowhypeweek2013
The BibleCode Sundays"The Boys of Queens"2014Song about a soldier who is a member of an Irish family from Queens. His family has a long firefighter tradition and lost most of its male members to 9/11. Furthermore, it deals with him suffering from the events and the aftermath and his own death in the Middle East.
Stephen Paul Taylor"Everybody Knows Shit's Fucked"[53]People Tonight20149/11 conspiracy themed song.
Craig Finn"Newmyer's Roof"Faith in the Future2015"I saw the towers go down from up on Newmyer's Roof."
Heems"Flag Shopping"Eat Pray Thug2015About backlash racism in the wake of 9/11[54]
Cat System Corp.News at 112016A concept album exploring an alternate universe where the attacks never happened, released exactly 15 years after the event.
Kevin Devine"No History"Instigator2016
Irene Sankoff and David Hein"Me and the Sky"Come from Away (Broadway Musical)2017From the Broadway Musical "Come from Away" and tells the story of a pilot (Beverly Bass) diverted due to the September 11 attacks.[55]
Imagine Dragons"Real Life"Origins2018Lyrics include "She prays on her knees as the towers fall to a god she does not know." Also includes references to the Boston Marathon bombing and mass shootings in America.[56]
Skylar Grey
Polo G
Mozzy
Eminem
"Last One Standing"Venom: Let There Be Carnage2021Towards the end of the song, Eminem raps the lines "So a lot of this pain isn't healing/ No escaping it, this anger is spilling/ Almost like recreating the feeling of 9/11 when the second plane hit the building" followed by the sound of a plane crashing into a building.[57]
My Chemical Romance"The Foundations of Decay"Released as a single2022Lyrics include "He was there, the day the towers fell, And so he wandered down the road"

See also

References