Neil Young says his Sept. 11 song "Let's Roll" was inspired by the heroism of passengers on doomed Flight 93 -- but he says he's surprised more people haven't followed his lead.

Young, whose new album "Are You Passionate?" arrived in stores Tuesday, told USA Today that the song was intended as a tribute to "an unbelievable pure act of heroism."

"Let's roll" was the last known phrase uttered by Todd Beamer, a passenger on one of the planes hijacked on Sept. 11. After speaking to his wife via telephone, Beamer led a group of passengers who presumably overpowered the terrorists, which forced the plane to crash in a Pennsylvania field, killing everyone on board.

"I just grabbed that phrase as soon as I heard the story," Young told USA Today.

"I thought there would be five, maybe 10, songs called 'Let's Roll' in the next hour. It seemed so obvious to me. But nobody did it."

Young said he was moved by reports that the passengers actually took a vote before they faced down the hijackers.

"We'll never know what happened, but we do know these guys made up their minds to do something, and they had maybe five minutes," Young told USA Today.

"There was no reward, no harem, no virgins, no martyrdom. You can't compare them to the guys who crashed the planes. You have to wonder if the passengers thought about the deeper meaning of their actions, about their place in history. Now everybody thinks about it every time they get on an airplane."

Young has diverted profits from the song to Sept. 11 charities, and said he has received support from the victims' families. However, his support of the Patriot Act -- which gives law enforcement new powers to investigate and detain suspects -- has drawn the ire of his liberal constituency.

"Benjamin Franklin said that anyone who gives up essential liberties to preserve freedom is a fool, but maybe he didn't conceive of nuclear warfare and dirty bombs."