Stars and Stripes and Songs: Country Music's Most Patriotic Anthems, Just in Time for the Fourth

No genre of music has ever wrapped itself in the American flag quite like country music. And within that tradition, a handful of songs stand apart. Not because they charted the highest or sold the most copies, but because they became part of the fabric of what it means to be American. These three are the ones that get played every Fourth of July for good reason.

"God Bless the USA" — Lee Greenwood

Lee Greenwood wrote "God Bless the USA" on the back of his tour bus in 1983. He had been carrying the idea for years. "I always wanted to write a song like this," he said. "I wanted to write something that would unite Americans from coast to coast and instill pride back in the United States. The song represents my family, my community, and those men and women who have paid the price for the freedoms we all love and enjoy."

On Halloween night in 1983, Greenwood drove a limousine to the home of the president of MCA Records in Hollywood, handed him a cassette tape and a bottle of champagne on his doorstep while he was doing trick or treat with his kids, and said, "trick or treat." The executive invited him in, played the tape, and said, "Let's see what we can do with this."

What they did with it turned out to be historic. The song has been in the top five on the country singles charts three times, in 1991, 2001, and 2003, giving it the distinction of being the only song in any genre to achieve that feat. It went to number one on the pop charts after 9/11. CBS News voted it the most recognizable patriotic song in America. It has been played at presidential inaugurations, Republican and Democratic National Conventions alike, and wherever Americans have gathered to grieve, rally, or celebrate. Forty-plus years after it was written on a tour bus, it still raises the hair on the back of your neck.

"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" — Toby Keith

If "God Bless the USA" is a hand over your heart, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" is a fist in the air. Toby Keith wrote it in the days after September 11, 2001, scribbling the lyrics on the back of a fantasy football sheet. It came out of him in about twenty minutes. The inspiration was both national and deeply personal. His father, H.K. Covel, was a veteran who had lost his right eye in service and had begged Keith for years to do USO Tours. Covel died in a car accident in March 2001, just months before the attacks. "So I thought about my dad, being the veteran he was and the flag-flying patriot he was. He never did gripe about it. So that's the reason I wrote the song, for him," Keith said.

Keith played it for soldiers at the Pentagon before he had even recorded it. A Marine Corps commandant told him it was the most amazing battle song he had ever heard in his life and urged him to release it as a single. He was right. The song went to number one on the country charts and at least one tank in Baghdad had the title written across its hull.

"American Soldier" — Toby Keith

Where "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" captured a nation's anger, "American Soldier" captured something quieter and more lasting. Keith wrote the song after completing several USO tours and being deeply moved by the stories of troops and their families. "It's written for all the times that I get to meet the troops on these USO tours," he told CNN's Larry King. "Since 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,' the P.O.W.s and the families that have come and brought me back my old CD covers and shown how much support they had, this is my support for the American fighting men and women."

Released in November 2003, the song held number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for four weeks. The music video won CMT Video of the Year for 2004, featuring real footage of U.S. military personnel and their families. It is not an angry song. It is a grateful one, about a man who puts on the uniform and goes without complaint because that is what soldiers do. It is the song that makes the strongest men cry in the parking lot after the show. Read Toby Keith's full bio on our website.

Three songs. Three different flavors of American pride. All of them worth cranking up loud today. Happy 250th Fourth of July America!