[Intro] [Soft acoustic guitar; distant piano notes] September morning, 2001 A skyline we’d never see again [Verse 1] [Quiet, almost spoken; intimate vocal] We watched the smoke against the sky We watched the towers disappear And every stranger felt like family For a little while that year Flags were flying from the porches People stopped to ask your name We held each other in the darkness And swore we’d never be the same [Pre-Chorus] [Strings begin to rise; restrained drums enter] And somewhere up in Newfoundland A little town opened every door Six thousand strangers needed somewhere to stay And they became strangers no more [Chorus] [Full band enters; emotional, anthemic] For a little while, we were one We held each other underneath that sun Didn’t ask what you believed Didn’t care where you came from We just saw somebody who needed us And we gave them what we could For a little while, in America We remembered what was good [Verse 2] [Music pulls back; darker guitar texture] Then the questions started coming And the fear began to spread And a woman wearing a hijab Had to watch the street ahead A man was beaten for his faith For a crime he didn’t commit Twenty-eight hate crimes became four-eighty-one Targeting Muslims in our midst [Pre-Chorus] [Building tension; drums gradually intensify] They weren’t the ones who flew those planes They weren’t the ones who chose that day But hatred doesn’t need the truth When fear gets in the way [Chorus] [Fuller instrumentation; stronger vocal] For a little while, we were one We held each other underneath that sun Didn’t ask what you believed Didn’t care where you came from We just saw somebody who needed us And we gave them what we could For a little while, in America We remembered what was good [Verse 3] [Deeper drums; electric guitar slowly enters] Then came wars and years of grieving Young men and women sent away Families learned the sound of waiting For a call that never came We built walls around our freedom In the name of keeping us safe And the country that was hurting Started hurting others in our name [Bridge] [Strip almost completely back; piano and vocal] I remember Gander I remember open doors People who didn’t know those strangers But still gave them something more I remember firefighters I remember helping hands I remember when compassion Wasn’t something we had to plan So tell me what happened Between then and now? When did loving our neighbor Become something to argue about? [Final Chorus] [Huge emotional lift; layered harmonies] For a little while, we were one We held each other underneath that sun We didn’t ask what you believed We just knew somebody needed us And that’s the part I can’t forget That’s the part I want back Not the fear, not the hatred Not the lines that pulled us back For a little while, we remembered What this country could be And twenty-five years later That’s the America I want to see [Outro] [Band falls away; acoustic guitar and single vocal] We remember September 11th We remember the names We remember the twin towers We remember the flames But if we’re gonna remember Let us remember everything
