World apart- Bruce Springsteen

The song World's Apart by Bruce Springsteen is the most experimental song on his album The Rising released in 2002. The album wades into the wreckage and pain of the disaster that occurred on September 11th the previous year. It features a Middle Eastern influence and there are Qawwali singers in the intro. Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia, especially in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan, Hyderabad, Delhi and other parts of India. It has been around for over 700 years. Qawwali music was first performed mainly at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, but has now became more mainstream. It has received international exposure through the work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who was a Pakistani singer. The roots of this music can be traced back to Persia in the 8th century, which is now Iran and Afghanistan. But in the 11th century the musical tradition of Sema migrated to South Asia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Amir Khusro Dehelvi from the Chisti order of Sufis is credited with fusing the Persian and Indian musical traditions to create Qawwali as we know it today in the late 13th century in India. Prior to hearing this song I had never heard of Qawwali, however, I think it obvious when listening that it is some type of music that probably originated in Asia. I also thought it was very interesting learning that Bruce Springsteen made a song that featured this style of music on a record of mostly songs dedicated to the people of 9/11 because it's not what most would expect.