“Have You Forgotten?”
Darryl Worley
Written by Wynn Varble and Darryl Worley
Radio & Records
#1 (6 weeks)
March 28 – May 2, 2003
Billboard
#1 (7 weeks)
April 5 – May 17, 2003
I didn’t enjoy this period of country music at the time.
So much of it felt like an invitation being rescinded. My love for country music was such a big part of my identity back then, and with this record, I heard the death rattle of that identity.
But now, so much time has passed, and there’s such an incredible ecosystem of country music that is heavily influenced by the 90s era, but operates outside of the restrictions of Music Row, musically and politically. Country radio has never been less relevant, and in turn, I’ve never been less concerned with what gets the blessing from the industry.
That said, this record still makes me sad. Not because I’m the intended target instead of the intended audience, but because it ultimately derailed the career of one of this century’s best country talents.
He has his Lee Greenwood moment here, but the sophistication of Darryl Worley’s songwriting and the sparkling traditional production that supported his emotive vocals, made him more like the Earl Thomas Conley of his time.
This record was a huge radio hit, but we’d be deprived of his empathy and wisdom soon after, with consumers and radio both turning away from him in the aftermath of this record. I’m really happy he is able to eke out another number one single, and this isn’t the final time we’ll talk about him.
Now onto the actual record. It’s well produced and sung with passion, but its value is primarily historical now. If I was still a classroom teacher, I’d use it as a primary source for this era of American history.
That is the beginning and end of its value for me, and everything else I want to say in response to it, Worley already said himself:
For this, I thank him. He may have forgotten there is more that unites us than divides us, but with time, he remembered.
“Have You Forgotten?” gets a C.
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I couldn’t find a way to Weave this into the post, but another thing I want to point out about where I’m coming from with this record:
As a native New Yorker, it was my neighbors who were “still inside there, going through a living hell.”
The war fervor being channeled here by Worley led to his neighbors dying, as our all volunteer military comes disproportionately from rural areas.
In the end, more American soldiers died in Iraq than American civilians died on 9/11.
They were all Americans, civilians and soldiers alike, and I will forever mourn those lives lost. I wish our better angels had prevailed back then. I wouldn’t mind them showing up today, either.
I am not a native of New York but I traveled to the World Trade Center on several occasions on business prior to 2000, and I lost a pair of co-workers in the disaster. Since this song did not arrive until 18 months after 9/11. I doubt that Worley’s song affected recruitment much.
Personally, I liked the song; however, I feel that we should have gone after the Taliban and left Iraq alone. Doing nothing would not have been “our better angels” prevailing.
Nobody ever said to do nothing in response to 911 and we were already on the ground in Afghanistan when the song came out. Something like 90% of the country supported the military response in Afghanistan. Worley was arguing against a strawman that didn’t exist here, and you just created one of your own.