When it comes to patriotic country songs, everyone knows the standards—Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA,” Darryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten,” Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” and Aaron Tippin’s “Where The Stars and Stripes and The Eagle Fly” among others. But dozens more pull at the red, white, and blue heartstrings. With many telling stories of everyday America, traveling soldiers, and American Saturday nights. (See what I did there?)
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Chris Young, ” The Dashboard”
Chris Young’s younger sister served in the Marine Corps. So, when he sings about a sibling being a Marine in “The Dashboard,” the lyrics are deeply personal.
Lyrics to the patriotic country song include: We laughed and joked in the cab of his truck| Just my brother and me| The night before he shipped out Overseas| A leather-neck, Jarhead Marine
One of the taglines is: If something happens to me, don’t hang a for-sale sign above the Dashboard.
“The Dashboard” is from Young’s 2009 album “The Man I Want To Be.” Songwriting great Monty Criswell penned the song alone.
Young has also been recognized for his patriotism. In 2018, Charlie Daniels honored him with the Charlie Daniels Patriot Award. When Daniels passed away in 2020, Young stepped up to help lead his Journey Home Foundation, which benefits veterans.
Brad Paisley, “American Flag On The Moon”
Brad Paisley journeyed to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2014 to launch his dreamy, nostalgic ode to hope.
Lyrics include: Tonight I dare you to dream| Go on, believe impossible things| Whenever anybody says there’s anything we can’t do| I mean after all, there’s an American flag on the moon
Paisley wrote “American Flag On The Moon” alone. The song is included on his “Moonshine in the Trunk” album.
Dolly Parton, “Color Me America”
Sevier County, Tennessee native, Dolly Parton, never forgot her hometown roots. Her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, will celebrate Independence Day this week with an array of patriotic fireworks and a drone show that will likely mimic the colors she sings about in “Color Me America.”
Lyrics include: I am red and white and blue| These are colors that ring true| To all I am and feel and love and do| I stand proud and brave and tall| I want justice for us all| SO color me America, red, white and blue.
“Color Me America” is from her 18-song 2003 album “For God And Country.” The album also includes “The Star Spangled Banner,” “God Bless The USA,” and “Tie A Yellow Ribbon’ Round The Ole Oak Tree.”
Chris Janson, “Flag On The Wall”
Chris Janson teamed with Eric Church to write this acoustic guitar-driven picturesque patriotic mid-tempo that depicts the dark elements of living in the poor parts of rural America.
Janson pulls no punches when he sings: Well, they say this land is your land, but ain’t that a crock of shit?| ‘Cause with the price of cigarettes going up, I’m gonna have to quit| We all blue and we all red, and we support the boys that fall| With a bible on the table and a flag on the wall
“Flag On The Wall” is from Janson’s fourth studio album, “All In,” which he released in 2022.
Tracy Lawrence, “If I Don’t Make It Back”
Brett Jones and Bobby Pinson wrote this tearjerker, “If I Don’t Make It Back,” from Tracy Lawrence’s 2005 “Then & Now: The Hits Collection.”
The song details a conversation between a soldier and his friends about how he wants to be remembered if he dies in combat. The lyrics reveal how his friends honor his memory by the song’s end.
Lawrence sings: He said, “Boys if I don’t make it back| Have a beer for me, don’t waste no tears on me| On Friday night, sit on the visitor’s side, and cheer for the home team| Drive my Camaro 90 miles an hour down Red Rock Road| With Born To Run blastin’ on the radio.
(Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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