Have You Forgotten? (song)

"Have You Forgotten?"
Single by Darryl Worley
from the album Have You Forgotten?
B-side	"I Miss My Friend"
Released	March 10, 2003
Format	CD single
Genre	Country
Length	4:03
Label	DreamWorks
Writer(s)	Wynn Varble Darryl Worley
Producer(s)	Frank Rogers
Darryl Worley singles chronology
"Family Tree" (2002) "Have You Forgotten?" (2003) "Tennessee River Run" (2003)

"Have You Forgotten?" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Darryl Worley. It was released in March 2003 as the first single and title track from his 2003 compilation of the same name. The song is a tribute to the people who were killed in the September 11 Attacks. It was No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs for seven weeks, reaching No. 1 after five weeks on the charts, and peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Worley's highest peaking crossover hit. The song was written by Worley and Wynn Varble.

Content

In December 2002, Worley performed for United States soldiers in Afghanistan and Kuwait. When he returned home in the last week of December, he and Nashville songwriter Wynn Varble penned "Have You Forgotten?". Worley debuted the song at the Grand Ole Opry one month later, on January 10, 2003.

Regarding his motivation for writing the song, Worley says, "I didn't really care if I made a bunch of money from it. I did want 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, our military troops that were in Afghanistan takin' care of business—I just wanted to do something to honor them."^[1]

Reception

The song received mixed critical reviews, with much of the commentary centered on the single's political stance. Village Voice named the song its 11th worst of the decade.^[2] Rick Cohoon of Allmusic, in his review, said that the song "basically tells us that because of what happened on 9/11 we have a moral obligation to enter combat against those who perpetrate terror." He states that the only problem is that "the song’s argument seems mainly to target U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and the war on terror, which few Americans oppose. If that is the aim, Worley is essentially preaching to the choir." In his conclusion Cohoon states that "the song is cleverly written and will definitely bring tears to your eyes."^[3] The article "Music, Musicians, and the War on Terrorism" asserted that the song "makes a spurious connection between Iraq and the September 11 attacks."^[4]

Commercially, the song was popular with much of the American public.^[4] It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and No. 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Music video

The music video was directed by Shaun Silva. It debuted March 8, 2003 on CMT Most Wanted Live.

Chart performance

"Have You Forgotten" debuted at No. 41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 8, 2003.

Chart (2003)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[5]	22
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[6]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[7]	12

References

Footnotes

1. Christian Bordal, "Patriotic Country Music and a Divided U.S.", Day to Day, NPR, December 28, 2004
2. Village Voice, "The 50 Worst Songs of the '00s, F2K No. 11: Darryl Worley, 'Have You Forgotten?'"
3. http://www.allmusic.com/song/t6212866 Allmusic: Have You Forgotten? Review
4. Resch, 2005, pg. 127
5. "Darryl Worley – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Darryl Worley. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
6. "Darryl Worley – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Darryl Worley. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
7. "Best of 2003: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2003. Retrieved July 13, 2012.

Bibliography

• Americans at War. Ed. John P. Resch. Vol. 4: 1946-Present. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p126-128.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics