"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Alan Jackson.

The song's lyrics center on reactions to the September 11 attacks in the United States, written in the form of questions.

[6] But after he played it for his wife Denise and for his producer, Keith Stegall, both of whom gave their approval, Jackson went into the studio to record "Where Were You" that week.

In the chorus, Jackson tries to sum up his own feelings, first by calling himself merely "a singer of simple songs", and "not a real political man", and finally by paraphrasing the Biblical New Testament's first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 13: "Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us/And the greatest is love."

The song is in the key of C major with a vocal range of A2-C4 and a primary chord pattern of C-G.[8] Jackson was scheduled to perform at the Country Music Association's annual awards ceremony on November 7, 2001, to be aired on CBS.

[10] But mere days before the awards show, Jackson's manager, Nancy Russell, played a recording of "Where Were You" for four of the CMA's top executives.

[9] The day before the show, CMT had a brief note on its web site that Jackson would be introducing the new song during the awards telecast.

[11] The next night, after an introduction from the show's host, Vince Gill, Jackson performed "Where Were You" seated on a stool, with an orchestra and backing singers behind him.

[17] I've always been real careful about writing or recording 'preachy' songs, and I didn't want it to look like I was taking advantage of the situation for my own career or something.

Deborah Evans Price (with Billboard) remarked "A multitude of songs have been written and recorded in the wake of September 11, but none captures the myriad emotions unleashed by the terrorist attacks on an unsuspecting nation more perfectly than Jackson's eloquent ballad".

[18] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the All Music Guide remarked, "Given the enormity of the subject-- it's simply not something that can be summarized in song-- it's a surprisingly effective and moving tune".

[19] Jackson's reaction to "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" was this: "I think it was Hank Williams who said, 'God writes the songs, I just hold the pen.'

"[21] Rolling Stone ranked it among the 40 "Saddest Country Songs" at number 11, with a reviewer claiming, "Jackson's heartfelt expression of stunned helplessness encapsulated the American collective consciousness perfectly.

"[22] Georgia Rep. Mac Collins entered the lyrics into the U.S. Congressional Record, citing the song as "an example of how all Americans can help heal our nation from the wounds we suffered on that tragic day.

The song was mocked in "A Ladder to Heaven", a 2002 episode of the American animated television series South Park.