"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" is a country song composed by Alan Jackson. Written in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks and introduced at the Country Music Association's annual awards show on November 7, 2001, it reached the top of the Billboard country charts.
Jackson was devastated by the events of September 11, 2001. He wanted to write a song expressing his thoughts and emotions, but he found it hard to do so for ma...
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"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" is a country song composed by Alan Jackson. Written in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks and introduced at the Country Music Association's annual awards show on November 7, 2001, it reached the top of the Billboard country charts.
Jackson was devastated by the events of September 11, 2001. He wanted to write a song expressing his thoughts and emotions, but he found it hard to do so for many weeks. "I didn't want to write a patriotic song", Jackson said. "And I didn't want it to be vengeful, either. But I didn't want to forget about how I felt and how I knew other people felt that day." Finally, on a Sunday morning in late October 2001, he woke up at 4 a.m. with the melody, opening lines and chorus going through his mind. He hastily got out of bed, still in his underwear, and sang them into a hand-held recorder so he wouldn't forget them. Later that morning, when his wife and children had gone to Sunday school, he sat down in...
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