Darryl Worley Releases Reimagined Version Of ‘Have You Forgotten?’ For 20th Anniversary
Pictured (L-R, back row): BMLG Records’ Jimmy Harnen, The Valory Music Co.’s Ashley Sidoti, Big Machine Label Group’s Allison Jones, The Valory Music Co.’s Chris Palmer; (L-R, front row): The Valory Music Co.’s George Briner, Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta, Darryl Worley. Photo: Nick Rau
Darryl Worley has given his stirring song “Have You Forgotten?” a fresh modern-day perspective on its original themes in a new reimagined version titled “Have We Forgotten,” available now via The Valory Music Co.
It’s been two decades since “Have You Forgotten?” was released. The original was penned alongside Wynn Varble and created as a post-9/11 anthem ensuring people would never forget those lost. Its message quickly resonated with millions, topping Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in only its fifth week and reigning for seven weeks.
“One of the first times we played ‘Have You Forgotten?’ live back then was on the Grand Ole Opry. The incredible response we received from that performance is how it all started,” recalled Worley. “We recently decided to sit down and write a new lyric for the song that’s appropriate for this day and time with what’s happening in our country today. For the new version ‘Have We Forgotten,’ we wanted to be certain we said what we were truly feeling in our hearts and didn’t compromise what we believe in, which is exactly how it went down with the original. I’m very proud of the message of the song.”
Featuring all-new lyrics from Worley and Varble, alongside co-writer Noah Gordon, the trio now wonders during the chorus, Have we forgotten / Who we really are / All the storms we’ve had to weather / And how we ever got this far / Have we forgotten / How it used to be / When we could still sit down together and agree to disagree. Worley recently debuted “Have We Forgotten” on the same stage he did the original version 20 years ago—in the circle at the Grand Ole Opry.
The new release finds Worley reuniting with label execs Scott Borchetta, Allison Jones, George Briner and Jimmy Harnen, who were pivotal players at DreamWorks when the original version launched in 2003 and are now all at Big Machine Label Group.
“It is so great to be reunited with Darryl twenty years on from the impact of ‘Have You Forgotten?’ and remind everyone about its moment in history,” says Borchetta, Chairman & CEO of BMLG. “Now, he’s reimagined this classic with a timely and relevant read posing a question that all Americans are asking themselves – ‘how did we get here?’”
Borchetta continues, “America experienced this extraordinary moment with 9/11 that brought us all together and now, here we are twenty years later, and our political parties can’t agree on what day it is. Hopefully, this will be a positive step forward in reminding us all that, as Americans, we’re at our best when we’re taking care of each other.”
