To honor of the victims of 9/11 during during the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Bruce Springsteen gave an acoustic performance of his song “I’ll See You in My Dreams.”
Following a moment of silence at New York City’s World Trade Center memorial plaza, the legendary rocker played to a select audience of dignitaries and family members of those killed in the 2001 attacks on what was once the Twin Towers. And after his performance, relatives of the 9/11 victims read the names of those who died in the attacks, which has served as a tradition in September 11 memorial services over the years.
In a 2002 piece for Rolling Stone, The Boss wrote about visiting New York City after the terror attacks and the sacrifices made by first-responders, stating:
“I took my kids to Ground Zero in July. I hadn’t gone before. We just walked out onto that public-viewing platform. What’s very moving down there are the photographs and memorials. All the smiling faces. Pictures of people with their families on a sunny afternoon in the yard. People in their uniforms. They’re a reminder of the life that’s gone. I found that sight to be deeply, deeply moving. Just the sense of sacrifice. I think one of the things that shocked people was the size of the sacrifice made on that day. There’s nothing that I think could prepare people — I mean, whatever they’re paying you to be a fireman or a policeman, they’re not paying you that. And that goes to some central point about how people experience their duty, their place in the world, their connection to the people alongside themselves and to complete strangers. If you look at the past twenty years, people might say, ‘Oh, that’s disappeared from America.’ But if you look closely, it’s there every day.”
“I’ll See You in My Dreams” is the last song on Springsteen’s 20th studio album, Letter to You, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 in November of 2020 and before performing the track during the memorial, the musician said: “This is ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams.’“May God bless our fallen brothers and sisters, their families, their friends and their loved ones.”
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Author: Brad LeBeau
Photo: Takahiro Kyono