# Question for Americans - Patriotic songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 1, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172 "2015-10-01T20:49:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/1 "2015-10-01T20:49:49Z")
What is your favorite American “patriotic” song? This could be anything from “God Bless America” to “Born in the USA” to “My Country Tis of Thee”? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/2 "2015-10-01T20:52:15Z")
Spoiler- “Born in the USA” isn’t a patriotic song. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/3 "2015-10-01T20:56:24Z")
Neil Diamond’s **America**. Probably not a favorite of the anti-immigration people. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/4 "2015-10-01T20:57:01Z")
I think the most stirring is _Battle Hymn of the Republic._ ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/5 "2015-10-01T21:04:52Z")
The Star Spangled Banner. Nice and militaristic, with bombs and rockets and ships and forts… Originally based on a drinking song: haw! But the best reason is that it begins and ends with a question, and what could be more American than that? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/6 "2015-10-01T21:05:19Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Spoiler- “Born in the USA” isn’t a patriotic song. I like to be loose with the definition. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/7 "2015-10-01T22:06:26Z")
Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA is a pretty good one. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/8 "2015-10-01T22:36:51Z")
Many by George M. Cohan … particularly _Yankee Doodle Dandy_ and _She’s a Grand Old Flag_ Also many by John Philip Sousa … particularly _Stars and Stripes Forever_ (although it doesn’t have words, so isn’t technically a song) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/9 "2015-10-01T22:46:06Z")
This Land Is Your Land [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wxiMrvDbq3s/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLA4hbtuJ27HCXQDmzfLJjaNKok8mA "Woody Guthrie- This Land Is Your Land") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s) ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/10 "2015-10-01T22:49:12Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Also many by John Philip Sousa … particularly _Stars and Stripes Forever_ (although it doesn’t have words, so isn’t technically a song) Believe it or not, it does – and they were written by Sousa himself. > [@](#): > > Let martial note in triumph float > And liberty extend its mighty hand > A flag appears ‘mid thunderous cheers, > The banner of the Western land. > The emblem of the brave and true > Its folds protect no tyrant crew; > The red and white and starry blue > Is freedom’s shield and hope. > Other nations may deem their flags the best > And cheer them with fervid elation > But the flag of the North and South and West > Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation. > > Hurrah for the flag of the free! > May it wave as our standard forever, > The gem of the land and the sea, > The banner of the right. > Let despots remember the day > When our fathers with mighty endeavor > Proclaimed as they marched to the fray > That by their might and by their right > It waves forever. > > Let eagle shriek from lofty peak > The never-ending watchword of our land; > Let summer breeze waft through the trees > The echo of the chorus grand. > Sing out for liberty and light, > Sing out for freedom and the right. > Sing out for Union and its might, > O patriotic sons. > Other nations may deem their flags the best > And cheer them with fervid elation, > But the flag of the North and South and West > Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation. > > Hurrah for the flag of the free. > May it wave as our standard forever > The gem of the land and the sea, > The banner of the right. > Let despots remember the day > When our fathers with might endeavor > Proclaimed as they marched to the fray, > That by their might and by their right > It waves forever. [http://www.usa-flag-site.org/song-lyrics/stars-and-stripes-forever/](http://www.usa-flag-site.org/song-lyrics/stars-and-stripes-forever/) Other people have written lyrics for it, too. > **[The Stars and Stripes Forever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_and_Stripes_Forever)** > > "The Stars and Stripes Forever" is a patriotic American march written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896. By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America. > In his 1928 autobiography, Marching Along, Sousa wrote that he composed the march on Christmas Day, 1896. Sousa was on board an ocean liner on his way home from a vacation with his wife in Europe and had just learned of the recent death of David Blakely, the manager of the Sousa B... ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/11 "2015-10-01T22:55:15Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I like to be loose with the definition. In that case: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NAM3rIBG5k) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/12 "2015-10-01T22:58:57Z")
[America - Fuck Yeah!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M) Either that or [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHNfvJc99YY). ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/13 "2015-10-01T23:01:01Z")
VOA by Sammy Hagar ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/14 "2015-10-01T23:07:15Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Believe it or not, it does – and they were written by Sousa himself. > [http://www.usa-flag-site.org/song-lyrics/stars-and-stripes-forever/](http://www.usa-flag-site.org/song-lyrics/stars-and-stripes-forever/) > > Other people have written lyrics for it, too. > > [The Stars and Stripes Forever - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_and_Stripes_Forever) Wow! I never knew that! I like how the photo of the sheet music in that Wikipedia link is titled, _Stars and Stripes Forever Song_, and WP captions that as “Song”. I’m surprised it doesn’t also say, “Greg, you big doof!” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/15 "2015-10-01T23:32:54Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I like to be loose with the definition. You can only consider _Born in the USA_ to be a patriotic song if you’ve never listened to the lyrics. It’s an indictment of the treatment of Vietnam veterans after they came home. It’s like saying that _Brother Can You Spare a Dime_ is a patriotic song. \*Come back home to the refinery Hiring man said “son if it was up to me” Went down to see my V.A. man He said “son, don’t you understand” I had a brother at Khe Sahn Fighting off the Viet Cong They’re still there, he’s all gone … Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery I’m ten years burning down the road Nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go\* ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/16 "2015-10-01T23:35:41Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You can only consider _Born in the USA_ to be a patriotic song if you’ve never listened to the lyrics. Only if you define a patriotic song as one that unthinkingly glorifies the nation. Criticism can be patriotic. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/17 "2015-10-01T23:35:56Z")
If Ray Charles’ “America the Beautiful” doesn’t get you weeping, there’s something wrong with you. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/18 "2015-10-02T00:41:10Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Only if you define a patriotic song as one that unthinkingly glorifies the nation. Criticism can be patriotic. In that case, John Prine’s Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore: > [@](#): > > But your flag decal won’t get you > Into Heaven any more. > They’re already overcrowded > From your dirty little war. > Now Jesus don’t like killin’ > No matter what the reason’s for, > And your flag decal won’t get you > Into Heaven any more. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/19 "2015-10-02T01:01:54Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Only if you define a patriotic song as one that unthinkingly glorifies the nation. Criticism can be patriotic. I doubt very much that that’s the definition that the OP was using, nor would most people use it in that way. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172/20 "2015-10-02T01:13:26Z")
It should be. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-americans-patriotic-songs/733172.md?page=2)