Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue
Toby Keith
“This nation that I love has fallen under attack
A mighty sucker punch came flyin’ in from somewhere in the back
Soon as we could see clearly through our big black eye
Man, we lit up your world like the Fourth of July
Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty’s started shakin’ her fist
And the eagle will fly, and it’s gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringin’ her bell
And it’ll feel like the whole wide world is rainin’ down on you
Brought to you courtesy of the Red, White & Blue
Justice will be served, and the battle will rage
This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage
And you’ll be sorry that you messed with the U S of A
‘Cause we’ll put a boot in your ass – it’s the American Way!”
This song is currently in heavy rotation on country radio. Oh my sweet lord. Words mean things.
You know, I heard this song a few weeks ago and was going to blog about it, but I was so aghast that A) He wrote it B) radio stations are playing it and C) No one is really objecting to what is being passed off as the so-called “American Way” that I just couldn’t really form coherent enough thoughts. But, ech.
I couldn’t think of coherent thoughts either. So I just let the words speak for themselves.
If it makes a few hicks feel like they have bigger penises for 5 minutes, I say let them have their fun.
ewwwwww. And a scary thing is, a lot of people you’d never expect it of, really feel this way (people in Madison, for God’s sake!!). It’s almost like, in the same way we want our football team to beat the crap out of Minnesota or Chicago, we’ll send “our troops” to beat the crap out of (fill in the name of Bush’s Axis of Evil country). I know nobody wants to hear any Baby Boomer “wisdom,” but when everybodys’ best friends and brothers and boyfriends were being dragged off to make canon fodder, people thought more carefully about the wisdom of their leaders, and what they were “fighting” for.
And people call me inflammatory when I say that I live in a nation of drooling, drunkard, spear-rattling savages. Sheesh.
speechless.
(words mean things, indeed)
yeah, I’d much rather have the American Way be known as *not* serving justice. Isn’t life so much better when we let people know there will be no retaliation for the most heinous acts?
Look at what the lyrics say… they basically say, “we were hit hard, and we are striking back…and it’s the American Way not to just let injustice stand.”
What a savage concept.
Dare I say that appeasement and lack of decisive (and yes, violent) response is downright irresponsible and *gasp* perhaps why attacks get more brazen during times we exercise that response?
Gondring:
I think your comments were very interesting, and indeed, very valid. I absolutely agree that the United States should not stand by and let injustice slide. However, the implication that the American way is to pretty much obliterate those who oppose us is definitely objectionable in my opinion. I think my problem with this song mostly concerns the language being used. It seems to me that this song equates extreme violence with justice (implied by lyrics like ‘your whole world raining down on you’ Destroying a world is pretty extreme). In my opinion, the American ideally is fairness, justice, and a general goodwill towards others, not carpetbombing entire nations until they beg for mercy. I don’t know about some people, like, say, Toby Keith, but I’d rather have the ‘American way’ associated with something like justice or motions for peace, not sticking a boot up somebody’s ass. But maybe it’s just me.
I here a lot of criticism being expressed over an
honest effort to express ones feelings concerning
the tragedy (or at least that’s what I feel it was).
What do you suppose happened on Sept. 11?
The hijackers ‘stuck a boot up our ass’ when they
crashed the planes into the WTC and Pentagon. I
suppose the folks who are critical of the song
were ‘rooting’ for another strike to occur. You
might chose to ‘turn the other cheek’ but I Mr.
Keith’s lyrics mirror my feelings.
While in school, a number of years ago, a history
teacher once said that the theory of one Chineese
Minister of Defence was:
If you slap me,
I’ll slap you,
If you hit me,
I’ll hit you,
If you wound me,
I’ll cut your head off.
If you don’t love the country you live in, the
find another that you like better.
I find it interesting that when conservatives make comments on this site, they rarely leave their names, much less e-mail addresses or web site addresses.
What the words are saying is that it you come to this country and hijack airplanes and kill Americans of all ages for some stupid reason our armes forces are gonna come looking for you and deliver justice. What is so disturbing about this to liberals? Maybe they are cowards and will not stand up for liberty. Thank God there are still some men and women of valor that are willing to occupy the front lines making it safer for Americans.
Must be nice to be able to sit around and bad mouth your country, let mom & dad pay your bills,
buy you that nice little car, put your food on the table while all you can say is what a rotten country
this is. Well I served my country and would do it again just to see all those rag heads burn in hell.
On Sept. 11th 2001, didn’t you hear a star fall from
our nations flag? It is not the first time nor will it be the last. Just take a minute and think about why you can have all you do? Yes I did defend this country and I would do it again, for you
great song Toby!!!!!!!!
Good God it’s about time someone got up the balls to stand up and sing it how it is. I and every other soldier I know feel that this song hit home and sent out one hell of a message…Great job Toby!
That kind of blind, self-serving barbarism, wiped like a thin veneer over racism (“towel-heads”?) is precisely why the September 11 attacks occurred. I think they were horrible, deplorable, immoral, and wanton in their irrational destruction, but banging our chests and randomly dropping bombs isn’t going to help. To retaliate, you need a target. Anything else is just indulging the whims of “patriots” who burn for an excuse to kill.
I love this country enough to keep a clear head. Our Constitution protects the rights of the individual — a sacred right — and not the rights of a mob.
America is wrong to voice or practice opposition to tyrannical, oppressive forces of evil. Look what we did to those poor NAZIs and Imperialist Nips- not to mention the worker’s paradises of Stalin, Castro, Ho Chi Minh… Ladies, put on your burqas and let’s all just get along.
As far as putting a boot in their ass as being the american way, it pretty much is. A lot of you seem to forget about when Japan attacked us and we sort of wiped out two cities worth of peoples world out of existence. Communism threats allies and we retaliate with full force in vietnam and korea. Iraq attacks an ally and we bomb the hell out of Iraq. Toby sang about how the US truely is, as a country the US has never put up with anybody’s shit, and that is the American way, and if you still say otherwise, go to the library and read some books on the history of the US.
Maybe the point we liberals are making is that’s the American Way, but it shouldn’t be. I am not opposed to the armed forces (my dad was a Marine and I considered being one as well even though the war he fought in was useless and changed nothing in the world for the better), nor even to war under reasonable circumstances. However, that doesn’t change the fact that we’re fighting a “war on terrorism” because we’re just seeking revenge. Revenge doesn’t help us, though. Revenge is not coming close to destroying those who wish to destroy us and have the power to do so. Wiping out Afghanistan isn’t doing a damn thing to hurt Osama bin Laden or his network. We’d be much more likely to hit them if we were bombing L.A. and D.C. And we haven’t even begun dealing with the actual sources of his money, his plans, his purpose – because we’re too busy defending the right to drive SUVs. Fighting smart will be more likely to get us ahead than fighting mad and we are ill-prepared, culturally and technically, to deal with a new century’s war. Criticism is an American’s right as a citizen in a supposedly free country and some of us are trying to make that criticism constructive.
You wouldn’t believe how talk radio is trying to ship up their robots over this based on Keith’s comments to CNN (saying Jennings, that “Canadian” nixed it for his July 4th special).
Never mind that you can’t have every single patriotic song on a televised special (oops, watch out for the Sousa backlash if you don’t play one of his marches). Never mind that the “information” comes from a whiny performer who just wants to pump up his sales. Never mind that the lyrics are inappropriate for a broadcast show during the family hour and designed for the entire family (“put a boot in your ass”). Never mind that other parts of the lyrics are insulting (that the U.S. was disgraced by being the victim of a sneak attack — I say the attackers were the ones who disgraced themselves by their cowardly conduct; or using an insulting image of the U.S. as a caged animal). Never mind that Keith failed to mention the scheduling conflict that even his own site reveals (Thursday, July 04, 2002; Provo, UT; Cougar Stadium; Stadium Ave & Canyon Rd; Showtime: 8:00 PM) and was cited by ABC. Never mind all that evidence that some singer is using a manufactured controversy to increase sales. Nope, just go off on some brainstem or spinal cord response and froth at the mouth about their sudden acceptance to hear any word on a broadcast family show, or about Canadians or some blather about keeping people from hearing a song they could just go and buy on CD. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Simply too funny.
It is apparent that the standards created by the
American media would classify me as a “Bad
American”. Therefore I confess my new status:
1. I believe that everyone has a right to his own
opinion.
2. I don’t think playing with toy guns makes you
become a killer.
3. I own handguns, rifles, and shotguns and it’s
not any of your business.
4. I believe politicians are liars, and are in
politics for their own benefit.
5. I believe that labor unions will be the
downfall of this great nation.
6. I don’t think being a minority makes you noble
or victimized.
7. I’ve never owned or been a slave; I haven’t
burned any witches or been persecuted by the
Turks and neither have you. So, stop trying to
pass out undeserved guilt trips.
8. I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac,
you do it in English. America’s language is
English. Learn it or leave.
9. I know what the definition of lying is. So does
Bill Clinton.
10. I know that newspaper reporting is inaccurate,
biased, an often times, fiction.
11. I define television news as “bizarre events”
presented to mindless viewers by unprepared clowns.
12. I think “hate crime” legislation is drivel.
No minority, homosexual, disabled, foreign, or any
other differentiated group has any more social
value than I do. If anyone kills anyone, that’s a
hate crime and our legal system will deal with it.
13. I believe that turkey bacon will kill you too.
14. I don’t think it takes a village to raise a child. It takes parents who will tell that child “NO!” and mean it.
15. I paid for it and I don’t care to recycle it. You may do so if you please.
16. I didn’t realize Dr. Seuss was a genius until
I had kids.
17. I think the Taco Bell dog was funny — the
name of the product is Mexican food.
18. I like fireworks. Some explosions are cool.
19. I accept that you may listen to stupid and
loud music if you want to; but, that doesn’t mean
I have to listen to your crap when I’m stopped at
a red light.
20. I don’t think being a student provides you
with any more enlightenment than working at
Blockbuster or McDonalds.
21. I believe every student has a right to pray in
school.
22. I don’t hate the rich.
23. I don’t pity the poor.
24. I think global warming is bull – * * * t.
25. I still think Barney Fife is funny.
26. I believe that a self-righteous liberal with a
cause, is more dangerous than a Hell’s Angel with
an attitude.
27. I think our cops have every right to shoot your
sorry butt if you’re running away from a burglary
at 2:30 in the morning.
28. I think Archie was right; Rob Reiner is a
meat-head.
29. I assure you of this. I WILL get even before
I let God finish up with you.
30. I like big cars, and big houses, and golf at a
private club.
31. I believe the money I make belongs to me and
my family; not some mid-level clerk with a bad
education who wants to give it away to some
welfare dependent crack addict.
32. I do not evade taxes but I seriously endeavor
to keep the government at their lowest legal
level of confiscation.
33. I believe that Hillary is a bitch and her
husband deserves her.
sgrees@yahoo.com
how funny. I read those lyircs on this page a few days back, and had absolutely no reaction. Sorta, “hmmm, boring post today” I re-read them, and well, I dont find them offensive, i dont find them interesting; it’s a simplistic lyric, which is what most of popular music is, and i rarely find that pop music has much to say to me. But congrats adam on having your hugest (yet) comment thingee.
Wow, you’ve met Hillary? Personally?
I can’t believe someone actually mentioned a “Sousa backlash.”
Whether it was intended to be or not, it was funny.
The sousa backlash comment was intended to make a point and be funny.
I actually had someone argue that the word “ass” (referring to a donkey) is in the bible so it was perfectly fine to have that phrase “put a boot in your ass” even for a broadcast designed to include kids.
Too funny. There actually is some discussion at the abc board for World News Tonight:
http://boards.abcnews.go.com/cgi/abcnews/request.dll?LIST&room=WorldNewsTonight
I think the song is great….i think people read to much into all of it….I dont think we should sit down and let bad people get away with doing things to our country and i think we need to stick a boot up theirs…. I was in the military and Im proud to be an American and id defend her still today God Bless the USA!
Hopefully this doesn’t diminish the worth of my opinion, but I am a member of Generation X. Yes, I am under the age of 25. Being this age, I often laugh when people make such a big deal out of the lyrics in music today. I hate to break this news to you all, but music is just music. Contrary to what “adults” might think offensive lyrics don’t necessarily contribute to the delinquency of children today. Just like Eminem doesn’t make kids hate their mothers, Toby Keith isn’t going to make kids hate Afghans or any other race in the “Axis of Evil.” As for the comments made about the section of the song that says “And it’ll feel like the whole wide world is rainin’ down on you” — isn’t that what happened to us? I know the WTC and the Pentagon aren’t the entire US, but I think it’s close enough. Schools closed on September 11 for crying out loud. If that’s not the whole world raining down on us, what is?? For the most part, we’re targeting military and terrorist areas, not innocent people at work. So, before you worry about what this song says about Toby Keith or about America, think about what silence says about us……
Great perspective Melissa.
I think it’s ok to retaliate against the people responsible, as long as it’s done in a tactical way that does not endanger civilians, renders the “enemy” incapable of attacking us again, and has the blessing of congress. We know who’s responsible, but have not captured/killed them. Al Queda has regrouped and is reorganized while we’re still romping around Afghanistani hills. War of any kind anywhere will endanger civilians, which is to be expected. The president did not get congress to delcare war. Futhermore he’s using this to go after Iraq which is not a threat because he wants to be just like dear old dad. Also, his administration is systematically elimnating our civil rights. I don’t think that “patriotism” should equal “going along with any fool idea the leaders of our country come up with.” I don’t think that my opinions mean I don’t love this country and that I should “leave” it. I love this country dearly; it’s my home.
Oh and by the way, I don’t consider myself “conservative,” but I’m white and Christian so I sometimes get sterotyped as “conservative” by idiots. But I ALWAYS include my real full name, and a link to my vainity domain where you can find out every thing you want to know about who I really am.
I have listen to country music for a long time now, and Toby Keith has never followed a trend. If anyone were to take the time to read his biography or listen to his collection of works, one would discover that Keith is a patriotic, family oriented, God loving American. I agree that the phrase, “we’ll put a boot in your ass” is not appropriate for the event, but the anger and disgust Keith expresses in his song is something most Americans can identify with. He has agreed to edit his song for radio; the complete version can be heard in the evening. I attended the Toby Keith concert in Manchester, NH last Friday. The crowd sang every word in unison and gave him a standing ovation. If that isn’t a testament to how at least some Americans feel about what happened on September 11th, I don’t know what is.
I don’t have a problem with the song. It displays the writer’s feeling of pain and anguish over the attacks. I also don’t have a problem with the message conveyed by the song. If you hit us we will hit back. That is how one attains peace….. by being willing and able to defend oneself. The “we’ll just let them do what they want and still love them” line of thought hasn’t been widely embraced throughout history. At least not by any civilization that wasn’t destroyed or enslaved. I’m not amazed that *gasp* people in Madison feel this way too. I knew there had to be more to Madison than seven square miles of never-land surrounded by reality.
I have to weigh in on this one…I overheard this song and literally couldn’t believe that someone wrote it, someone recorded it, no label nixed it and it is actually getting played on mainstream stations…
For me, it’s not the bad words or the anti-peace message or any of that. It is just the most god-awful song I have ever heard in my life. The music is fine…kinda typical country rock anthem, but the lyrics are quite possibly the worst thing ever written. Modern country music isn’t known for great lyrics but this gem is absolutley rife with eighth grade metaphors and amateur poet rhymes…the fact that he decided to bring every single possible American symbol into the mix pushes it over the top…and the bells, my god, the bells! It’s like a caricature of bad country music…
Words mean things, indeed, and these words mean that Toby Keith writes lyrics like an angry fourth grader!