This past weekend I once again spent many hours in front of the TV set trying to make sense of all that happened a decade ago in New York City. Our son, John, had called that morning saying, “Turn on your TV—you won’t believe what is happening!” And that is pretty much where we spent the next few days in shock and awe that something so horrific could happen here in our country.
Now, as I watched the replaying of those events, I felt as Tom Brokaw did when he wrote in the current Parade Magazine:
“My heart sinks again as I am pulled back to that long day of violence and terror,
death, confusion, grief and rage. The hole in the skyline is symbolic of the hole in
our lives, that moment that took so many of our fellow citizens to their death,
plunged others into a lifetime of loss and bewilderment, and blasted all of us out
of our comfort zones.”
At first I decided not to re-watch those events that had been so hurtful a decade ago, but then I realized I could not resist watching. Maybe I was unrealistically hoping for a different outcome this time around, or an answer to the question “Why?”, but in the end I think I just felt it my duty to remember and to mourn with our country, and especially with those whose losses were so terribly personal.
Back in 2001, so many were moved to record their feelings in some meaningful way that might be helpful to others: Journalists penned essay after essay, photographers recorded unbelievable moments of destruction and also of triumph, and composers wrote songs of hope for the future that were performed throughout the country.
I had been writing patriotic and gospel songs with Senator Orrin G. Hatch for a few years before 9-11, and as these events unfolded we both felt strongly that we wanted to record our feelings in song to do our part to restore hope to our country. Writing back and forth by e-mail we composed words and music that expressed our deepest feelings about the resiliency of our great nation in a song called “America United,” beautifully arranged by Greg Hansen and performed by Paul Engemann.
Click to play.
America United
(Orrin G. Hatch/Janice Kapp Perry, 2001)
We have seen the hand of evil,
We have shared a nation’s tears.
We have felt a threat to freedom
And to all that we hold dear.
Now a mighty wave is growing
As we hear our country’s call,
But the world still waits and wonders–
Will we rise or will we fall?
As we bury fallen heroes
Many broken hearts must heal.
But in the ruin and the rubble
Our spirit is revealed!
America, united, working side by side,
America, united, hope still burning bright.
Those who would divide us, could not realize
That from the smoke and from the ashes,
America would rise . . . united, united!
We have felt the force of terror,
There is sorrow in the land.
Through the drifting dust of chaos
Lady Liberty still stands.
And the miracle of freedom
Gives courage to us all,
For the ones who try to hurt us
Only strengthen our resolve!
We are holding hands together
For we share a destiny.
Through the darkness and the danger
We will always be:
America, united, working side by side,
America, united, hope still burning bright.
Those who would divide us, could not realize
That from the smoke and from the ashes,
America would rise!
(repeat chorus)
I would also like to include here another song that I co-wrote with Senator Hatch before 9-11 which became particularly meaningful after the events and feelings of that day. I will always remember opening an envelope from the Senator and seeing a page of new lyrics he had penned entitled, “Heal Our Land.” We were working on our first album of patriotic songs and I thrilled at the title and eagerly read his words. As I did so, I felt a strong impression that it would be an important song for our country at some time in the future. We subsequently added a subtitle to
our song: “Heal Our Land: A Prayer For Our Country.”
In the years following our recording of this song, it has been recorded and performed by other orchestras and choruses, has been sung at two National Prayer Breakfasts in Washington, D.C., has been published in choral form by national publishers, was sung at President Bush’s second inauguration, and also on the Oprah Show during the week of 9-11 by Pastor Wintley Phipps. Perhaps best of all to us personally, it was arranged by Mack Wilberg and performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on one of their patriotic broadcasts. We truly believe in the power of music to heal our land, and hope that this offering may have helped our country in that process.
Click to play.
Heal Our Land (A Prayer For Our Country)
(Orrin G. Hatch/Janice Kapp Perry)
Heal our land,
Please grant us peace today
And strengthen all who lack the faith
To call on Thee each day.
Heal our land,
And keep us safe and free
Watch over all who understand
The need for liberty.
Chorus:
Heal our land, heal our land,
And guide us with Thy hand.
Keep us ever on the path of liberty.
Heal our land, heal our land,
And help us understand
That we must put our trust in Thee
If we would be free
Heal our land,
Please help us find our way,
For in Thy word we find our strength
If we look up each day.
Heal our land,
And fill us with Thy love.
Keep us upon the path of truth
That comes from heav’n above.
(repeat chorus)
Protect us by the power of Thy rod,
And keep us as one nation under God!
(repeat chorus)
As I watched remembrances of 9-11 this past weekend it was obvious that, in spite of the empty places in so many hearts that may never completely heal, much healing has taken place in our country that allows us to go forward as “America United,” remembering and learning from the lessons of 9-11. As Tom Brokaw concluded in his Parade Magazine article:
“We cannot keep our place as the greatest nation on earth if we are a self-absorbed people, too quick to forget the unity that prevailed immediately after 9-11. We owe those who lost their lives that day and in the resulting wars a common commitment to the values they personified, the values that have made this an exceptional country.”
Janice Kapp Perry: composer, author, lecturer. Get the Heal Our Land album here on Janice’s website.
