It was in 2001 or 2002 and I was at home watching TV. There was a 2-hour special on A&E with Sting doing a private concert from his villa in Tuscany. The show showed Sting and the band rehearsing, figuring at the set list, and all the help setting up the outdoor patio for the lucky guests. Beautiful scenery, brilliant music. Would loved to have been there.
Part way through the special, Sting and his band receive an unexpected interruption. It was about 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon -- just hours away from showtime and the taping of the concert.
One of Sting's employees came in and told them that planes had struck the World Trade Center and that other attacks had taken place in the United States.
The day was Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
Immediately, Sting and the band were left with a dilemma: do we cancel the show or do we go on as planned? Among the comments made, as you can imagine, was the idea that if they cancelled, the terrorists would have won -- again. Ultimately, they decided to continue as planned, with a few modifications to their program.
That's what made an impression on me -- the lyrics of the first song they sang to open the concert. In a word, chilling.
"Fragile"
If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime's argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star, like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are, how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star, like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are, how fragile we are
How fragile we are, how fragile we are
