Chris Cornell: Ground Zero
Chris Cornell’s song Ground Zero was inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers.
He explained the song to MTV News: “To me, it’s sort of about the lingering aspect of [9/11] that is used to kind of create support for things that haven’t been very good for our country or the citizens of our country. I’ve felt like, with the Bush administration, whenever they’re in crisis, they’ll suddenly pull out a terror alert—a code orange scenario, which I run into constantly, because I’m in airports so often. They don’t ever have to say why; just that it’s a matter of national security. And with the conservative right, part of the platform right now in the election is “Be afraid of terror, be afraid of terrorists.” Look at 9/11—we need an administration and a president who knows how to go out, kick ass, take names and keep us safe.’ That’s what got us into Iraq in the first place. [That tactic] certainly helped, and I think [9/11 was] a key factor in Bush winning a second term. To me, the song is about how awful 9/11 was, but stresses that we’ve got to let go of that to move on peacefully.”
Ground Zero
Performed by Chris Cornell
Written by Chris Cornell, James David Washington, Timothy Mosley, and Jerome Harmon
When it all falls down
And the law don’t count
And it don’t seem fair
And the people don’t care
Where in the world you gonna go
Who in the world you gonna hold
When all the world keeps holding on at ground zero
We’ll leave it all with God
When it all falls down
And we almost drown
When the sin sinks in
I guess it’s everyman for himself
Where in the world you gonna go
Who in the world you gonna hold
When all the world keeps holding on at ground zero
We’ll leave it all with God
When the war it rages over the ages
You can’t erase it once you spill the
Blood on the concrete river of deceit
Will you be around?
When it all falls down
And the law don’t count
And it don’t seem fair
And the people don’t care
Where in the world you gonna go
Who in the world you gonna hold
When all the world keeps holding on at ground zero
We’ll leave it all with