God Bless the USA

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"God Bless the USA" is an American patriotic song written by country musician Lee Greenwood. The first Greenwood album it appears on is 1983's Somebody's Gonna Love You, but it appeared on 1979's 16 Top Country Hits Volume 3, an album by various artists. It reached number 7 on the country charts when originally released in 1984, and was played at the 1984 Republican National Convention, but the song was first widely heard during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, as a way of boosting morale.

Greenwood also recorded the song, with slightly altered lyrics, as "God Bless You, Canada".

The popularity of the song rose sharply since the September 11, 2001 attacks and during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The song could often be heard on the radio after those events, and versions of the song are widely distributed online. There were other places playing the song, and several versions with quotes from President George W. Bush have appeared online.

[edit] Cultural references

• Bob Rivers did a parody of the song called "Independence Day".
• The Capitol Steps did a parody of the song called "God Bless My SUV" and another one that mocked conspiracy theories called "God Bless The UFO."
• Jump5 did a rendition of the song with a slight change in lyrics.
• Bon Jovi altered the song in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the United States, hailing the men and women who died in those attacks.
• Comedian David Cross is a vocal critic of the song (and as a result, Greenwood himself), arguing that Greenwood claims to be proud to "defend" America but never once enlisting into military service. He occasionally leads his audiences in singing the song for satirical effect.
• The song is the theme song of the group Camp Adventure that provides summer camp counsellors for the children of US military personnel.

[edit] See also

• God Bless America

[edit] External links

• Allmusic Entry

Patriotic music of the United States

"America the Beautiful" • "Ballad of the Green Berets" • "Battle Cry of Freedom" • "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" • "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean" • "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" • "For The Dear Old Flag, I Die" • "God Bless America" • "God Bless the USA" • "Hail, Columbia" • "Hail to the Chief" • "The Liberty Bell" • "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" • "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" • "Over There" • "PT-109" • "Stars and Stripes Forever" • "The Star-Spangled Banner" • "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving" • "This is My Country" • "This Land Is Your Land" • "Yankee Doodle" • "The Yankee Doodle Boy" • "You're a Grand Old Flag" • "Fifty Nifty United States" • "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" Armed services: "The Army Goes Rolling Along" • "Anchors Aweigh" • "The U.S. Air Force" • "Marines' hymn" • "Semper Paratus"