Have You Forgotten?
Wynn Varble and Darryl Worley, 2003 |
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Why did the United States invade Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2002? |
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What controversies surrounded the Iraq invasion in particular? |
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Where do the songwriters come down in the debate about the invasion? |
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The chorus refers to "bin Laden." Who is bin Laden? |
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"Have You Forgotten?" performed Darryl Worley on Have You Forgotten. Dreamworks, © 2002. Available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
For more information about about the Darryl Worley, visit his official website. |
Rights have not been secured to reprint the words for this song. Please consult the following online resource for lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/
darrylworley/haveyouforgotten.html |
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Darryl Worley (b. 1964) was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He obtained a degree in biology and chemistry and worked in the chemical industry before pursuing a career in music. Worley frequently travels abroad with the USO to entertain troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is also active in partisan politics. In 2004 he performed at the Republican National Convention and in other events in support of President George W. Bush's reelection campaign.
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| Darryl Worley. |
Like most of Worley's recorded songs, "Have You Forgotten?" was cowritten with a professional songwriter. Wynn Varble and Worley wrote "Have You Forgotten?" long after the events of 9/11, following Worley's first visit to Afghanistan to entertain the troops stationed there. By the time the song was written and recorded, the United States had already begun military involvement in Iraq, and this resulted in some confusion over which war the song was about. According to Randy Rudder, "Critics attacked the song's content because of what they felt were faulty connections between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein" (p. 219).
The song was very controversial upon its release. Worley admits that it was motivated by anger. "I was so angered," he said. "I was just so angered by the coward[ice] of the attacks. I don't think anything compares to it, except maybe Pearl Harbor" (quoted in Dukes). The song redirects this anger toward Americans who opposed a military response, and its divisiveness caused many radio stations to stop playing it. Speaking about the song in an interview on NPR (quoted in Bordal), Worley commented,
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"I didn't really care if I made a bunch of money from it. I did want [to honor] the people that it was written for: the men and women that died in the tragedy of 9/11 and their families; the men and women that wore the uniforms here in our country, and then, last but not least of course, our military troops that were in Afghanistan taking care of business." |
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