SALON

No. 1 with a bullet

Darryl Worley's hot new country single "Have You Forgotten?" plumbs a new low in post-9/11 pop, arguing that to avenge terror we must attack Iraq.

Topics: George W. Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Terrorism, Iraq war, Country Music, Iraq, Music, Bruce Springsteen, National security, Middle East, 9/11,

No. 1 with a bullet

Could the White House have scripted this pop culture moment any better? Just as the president makes the case for war against Iraq based on the disputed premise that only an invasion of Baghdad will protect America from al-Qaida-like terrorist attacks, a new, pro-war country single is racing up the charts. The song’s premise? The best way for Americans to avenge the terror of Osama bin Laden is to wage war on Iraq.

The singer is Darryl Worley, a good ol’ boy from Hardin County, Tenn. The song is called “Have You Forgotten?” and it’s a country radio phenomenon, barreling its way toward a certain No. 1 slot. (Commercially, the song won’t be out until Worley’s CD is released May 20; a downloadable single should be available this week.)

Key lyrics: “I hear people saying we don’t need this war/ I say there’s some things worth fighting for/ Some say this country’s just out looking for a fight/ After 9/11, man, I’d have to say that’s right/ Have you forgotten all the people killed?/ Some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field/ Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?/ All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on/ Don’t you tell me not to worry about bin Laden.”

Think of it as pop music for the red states. Or better yet, considering the song’s nifty piece of wartime disinformation, maybe “The Ballad of the Gulf of Tonkin.”

That’s not a slap at patriotic pop songs, or to suggest that topical tunes need to lean left, although the two best post-9/11 songs did, at least arguably. Both Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” and country superstar Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” opted for introspection, healing and faith, rather than a jingoistic call for vengeance.

That role, until now, fell to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” which may have been the first chart-topper in praise of carpet-bombing: “And it’ll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you/ Ahhh, brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue.”

Another lunch-bucket country singer, Aaron Tippin, weighed in with more of a feel-good patriotic anthem in the wake of 9/11, “Where the Stars and Stripes and Eagles Fly.” Simplistic? Sure. Welcomed during the dark days of October and November 2001? Absolutely.

Worley goes much further than that. He tries to suggest a rationale for the war that even the White House, which has been wrestling with the topic for more than a year, has not been able to successfully articulate.

In interviews, Worley has tried to be cute about the song’s real meaning, implying the “war” in “Have You Forgotten?” is the war on terrorism, which the U.S. launched against Afghanistan with almost unanimous support following terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

But Worley co-wrote “Forgotten” with Wynn Varble in December 2002, after visiting U.S. troops overseas. Did he really think, with weapons inspectors prowling Iraq and MSNBC’s “Countdown Iraq” already a TV staple, that the stridently pro-military song’s reference to “this war” wouldn’t be interpreted to mean Iraq?

As one country disc jockey told USA Today, “The audience is so wrapped up in the emotion of what it’s about, I don’t think they’re nitpicking at this point” about the difference between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

It turns out Worley’s fine with that interpretation. “I do support our president,” he said on NBC’s “Today.” “I think he’s on the right track, and personally, I agree with what he’s doing and I’m OK with that.”

In other words, rather than try to clear up any confusion, he’s signed off on the song’s erroneous premise that if America wants to avenge 9/11 it should rain bombs down on Iraq. As Bill Maher recently noted on his late-night HBO show, that would have been like Franklin D. Roosevelt responding to Pearl Harbor by saying, “OK, Japan attacked us. So let’s go after Spain!”

The question of whether Hussein and bin Laden are in fact linked has been a hotly debated one for the past year. War hawks first tried to prove that 9/11 suicide bomber Mohammed Atta had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague, but that story kept unraveling.

More recently, Secretary of State Colin Powell has tried to forge the same links, but with few new specifics. His analysis was greeted with widespread international skepticism.

Still, the White House won’t give up. During last week’s prime-time press conference, President Bush argued eight separate times that in order to prevent another 9/11, American must attack Iraq. “Saddam Hussein is a threat to our nation. Sept. 11 changed the strategic thinking, at least as far as I was concerned, for how to protect our country. My job is to protect the American people,” said Bush.

That kind of drumbeat of dubious rhetoric has had an effect. According to a January poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, 46 percent of Americans thought most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were Iraqis. (Only 17 percent knew the correct answer: none were from Iraq.) That conspiracy theory seems to be thriving inside the U.S. military as well. A recent news account in the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger about U.S. troops deployed in the Gulf region was accompanied by a photograph of a bomb presumably destined for an Iraqi target. On it someone had scribbled: “It’s Payback Time.”

Payback time for what? Tune into WKSJ in Mobile, Ala., KILT in Houston or WIVK in Knoxville, Tenn., and hear Darryl Worley sing the answer: It’s payback time for 9/11, whether Iraq had anything to do with it or not.

Eric Boehlert, a former senior writer for Salon, is the author of "Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush."

Next Article

Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Mobile Entertainment: 9 Amazing Drive-In Movie Theaters Still Standing

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Two-for-one for Everyone — West Wind Solano Twin Drive-In, Concord, Calif.
    This family-friendly attraction with several spots across the U.S. (including California, Nevada and Arizona) prides itself on offering first-run double features (save for premiere events) on the cheap — which is quite the deal, considering their 65-foot screens are among the biggest in the biz. And if you have great car speakers, even better: squawk boxes of old have been replaced with Dolby quality audio piped through your car’s FM stereo.

    Image credit: J.D.S. via Shutterstock
    westwinddriveins.com

  • For the Four-legged Friendly — Warwick Drive-In, Warwick, N.Y.
    Northeast city slickers looking for a place to watch their favorite movie stars under the stars need only veer six miles east of Vernon, N.J. What began as a family affair in 1950 has since become a seasonal institution offering rural and urban (and pet!) audiences two movies for the price of one on any of its three giant screens.

    Image credit: Getty
    warwickdrivein.com

  • See Stars Collide — Ford-Wyoming Drive-In, Dearborn, Mich.
    Open year-round (unlike many of its surviving contemporaries), this five-screen staple of the Midwest known as the “largest drive-in in the world” plays host for up to 3,000 cars on any given night. And if the double-feature doesn’t hold your attention, relax; you’ve got the best (car)seat in the house for the occasional overhead meteor shower.

    Image credit: waymarking.com
    waymarking.com

  • A Hole (Lot of Fun) in One — Wellfleet Drive-In, Wellfleet, Mass.
    Built in 1957 and still offering original mono sound boxes for those looking for an authentic experience (or not, as FM stereo is available as well), the summer-exclusive theater hosts double features of first-runs on its giant 100’ x 44’ screen. Come for the movies, stay for the mini-golf and flea market (on select days).

    Image credit: Getty
    wellfleetcinemas.com

  • Go Big or Drive Home — Bengies Drive-In, Baltimore, Md.
    The only thing bigger than Bengies’ prolific history (57 years and going) is its main attraction — boasting the biggest theater screen in the U.S. at 6,240 square feet. That’s 52’ x 120’ of pure anamorphic presentation. Complementing its time capsule of a snack bar (unchanged since ’56), previews old and new occupy the venue’s old-timey intermissions between features.

    Image credit: Getty
    bengies.com

  • Proof That Film is Forever — Shankweilers, Orefield, Pa.
    While we’re on superlative street, consider stopping at this roadside treasure: America’s oldest drive-in. Operating since 1934, it may not have the frills and pony rides of nearby Becky’s Drive-In, but it’s defied hurricanes and the wear and tear of time. Worth the one-hour drive from Philly.

    Image credit: Getty
    shankweilers.com


  • The Gritty Hollywood Reboot — Corral Drive-In, Guymon, Okla.
    Like a slasher movie menace that died (several times) in the ’80s only to be rebooted years after, the long-vacant Corral Drive-In was resurrected and restored in 2009, providing big entertainment at a nominal fee. And if the $6 adult admission doesn’t make you feel like a kid again, the venue’s inflatable bouncers most definitely will.

    Image credit: Getty
    corraldrivein.com

  • Hop the Healthy Highway — Delsea Drive-In, Vineland, N.J.
    Less than an hour’s trip from Atlantic City, New Jersey’s only drive-in offers the best of both worlds — old school aesthetic outfitted with modern tech and healthier food choices to boot. Open seasonally, with first features beginning around dusk.

    Image credit: Getty
    delseadrive-in.com

  • Bring Your Backyard to the Big Screen — Starlight Six Drive-In, Atlanta, Ga.
    As much a backdoor barbecue as it is a night out at the movies, this six-screen Atlanta drive-in encourages what most in the theater biz forbid: bringing your own food and grilling it. Those looking to add a hip twist of the theatrical to their Labor Day getaway need only stock the cooler and pack some brats or burgers for the Starlight’s annual “Drive-Invasion,” which features a hot-rod show, live music, and B-movies galore.

    Image credit: yelp/ivan.s.
    starlightdrivein.com

  • And really, what better way is there to cruise the nostalgia highway of old Hollywood than in a MINI Roadster? Allowing all the headroom one needs to see the stars on the screen and those directly above, the 2013 convertible goes the distance where it counts — on the road (obviously), not to mention the discerning driver’s wallet. Never mind that its fun-size frame also makes motoring in and out of tight traffic all the more enjoyable (or parking in even tighter spots for cozy romantics all the more convenient).

    Image credit: miniusa.com

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Comments

0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>