Musical Meditation From Orrin Hatch

It's safe to say that things are very busy on Capitol Hill these days.

But even members of Congress have to find time to express their personal feelings about the events of September 11 and their aftermath.

With that in mind, Sen. Orrin Hatch is preparing to release a new song he wrote dedicated to victims of the terrorist attacks.

Production of the Utah Republican's glossy, soft-rock tribute, "America, United" is complete and the CD single is scheduled to be released in two weeks.

"Even before the song is out they've had a number of requests from radio stations, mostly in Utah," Hatch's spokesman, Chris Rosche, said.

Hatch, R-Utah, wrote the lyrics, while his frequent musical collaborator Janice Kapp Perry composed the music. Professional musicians performed the song on the recording.

Hatch has written dozens of religious and patriotic tunes and has seven CDs. He frequently collaborates with Perry, a Utah composer who puts Hatch's sentimental lyrics to music.

The song begins, "We have seen the hand of evil, we have shared a nation's tears, we have felt a threat to freedom and to all that we hold dear."

It ends: "Those who would divide us could not realize, that from the smoke and from the ashes America would rise."

Earlier this year, one of Hatch's songs - "America Rocks" - was used in the movie "Rat Race."

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