Didn't They
Unreleased | 2003
Table of Contents
Background
The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks killed 2,996 people when planes crashed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Taylor would have been 11 years old on 9/11, so it tracks that she would have written this song soon after that day or just a few months after processing the events. She told an interviewer once how she rememberes 9/11:
«I was in fifth grade, and all I remember was, they had us all get together in the lunch room for an assembly, and they were explaining it to us, but I didn't understand what they were talking about until I walked down the hall, and I saw all the teachers looking up at their TVs in their classrooms, crying. People were getting their kids out of school, and I think it was my parents that really explained it to me in great detail, and it was just horrifying.»
Taylor Swift
Lyrical Theme
The first verse focuses on a young schoolgirl who saw the Twin Towers fall. The second verse tells a fictional story of a father who boarded a flight that got hijacked and used his last words to say that his God died for him, not the other way around. According to annotations on lyric analysis site Genius, Taylor questions God on the song’s chorus, asking how an all-powerful being could have let this tragedy happen. “Didn’t they call you?” she sings. “Didn’t they need you bad enough? Was there some reason I’m not aware of? Did you not write it down, just one more thing to do … and didn’t they pray too?”
Taylor may never comment on how she feels about the song she wrote two decades ago, but still, as a pre-teen, she wrote a poignant and moving track exploring the complex stories and emotions of one of the world’s most impactful tragedies, in a way that felt relatable to all and tugged on heartstrings without getting cheesy.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
She walks to school with her arms crossed
It’s just another day
At 10 ‘clock she hears this screaming
Then finally she sees them
It’s scary how things change
[Pre-Chorus 1]
And I saw the story on the news
I saw the footage from the roof
I sat down and cried
[Chorus 1]
Didn’t she call you?
Didn’t she need you bad enough?
Was there some reason I’m not aware of?
Did you not write it down?
Just one more thing to do
Where were you?
And didn’t she pray too?
[Verse 2]
He kissed his wife goodbye
And took the earliest flight
So he could be home that night
To put his kids to sleep
Down the aisle
Three men walked and said,
“We’re here to die for our God”
He stood up and said,
“That’s funny, cause my God died for me”
[Pre-Chorus 2]
I put the magazine down
I read his words out loud
I sat down and cried
[Chorus 2]
And didn’t he call you?
Didn’t he need you bad enough?
Was there some reason I’m not aware of?
Did you not write it down?
Just one more thing to do
Where were you?
And didn’t he pray too?
[Bridge]
The taxis pulled up on the very day of
They rode 100 floors up
Just to come back down
They never thought they’d see the day
That the tower’s up in flames
There was nothing left to say
When it all came down
[Final Chorus]
And didn’t they call you?
Didn’t they need you bad enough?
Was there some reason I’m not aware of?
Did you not write it down?
Just one more thing to do
Where were you?
Where were you?
And didn’t they pray too?
[Outro]
I walk to school and I wear a cross
I’m counting every day
Artist | Taylor Swift |
---|---|
Status | Unreleased |
Leaked | 2013 |
Written | 2003 |
Genre | Country |
Length | 3:43 |
Songwriter | Taylor Swift |