You will be hard pressed to find a more patriotic song — aside from “The Star Spangled Banner” — than Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The U.S.A.,” which has become a staple of 4th of July celebrations all over the country for years. Greenwood recently took to social media platform X where he teased a brand new rock version of the classic tune, which is set to drop on Nov. 1. You can hear a sample of the song below:
God Bless The U.S.A. (Rock Version)
Pre-Save Now! Full Song Drops
November 1st! https://t.co/UE9BLoR6Ar#GodBlessTheUSA #rockversion #newmusic #USA #America @DrewJacobsMusic pic.twitter.com/wz4nrrlEvF— Lee Greenwood (@TheLeeGreenwood) October 4, 2024
If that doesn’t send chills up your spine, you better check your pulse. Now, the vast majority of us will have to wait until November to hear the full song, but those who are attending former President Donald Trump’s return to Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday will get to hear Greenwood perform his song live and in person. This, of course, is the site where Trump was almost killed by Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin who opened fire during Trump’s campaign rally on July 13.
Not only will the former president be joined by his dear friend, Greenwood, but also by Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. His running mate, Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance and several members of Congress, along with county sheriffs, will also be participating in the event.
Let’s hope this time, security has the venue for the rally checked thoroughly and we don’t have a repeat of what happened last time Trump stopped in Butler. Investigations into that assassination attempt are still ongoing, as well as a probe into a second attempt that occurred 90 days later at the 45th president’s golf club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Greenwood recounted the story behind “God Bless The U.S.A.” in an interview with The Tennessean in 2021.
Lee Greenwood: I was raised on a farm in Sacramento, California. My parents were divorced when I was a year old, so my grandparents were my guardians. My father joined the Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, so you can see I was born about a year later. My mom had to work several jobs in order to support me and my sister, so she really couldn’t afford to have childcare while she was working so that’s why I was raised by my grandparents, Thomas and Edna Jackson, who I love dearly.
I had farm chores, I had music. My mother was a piano player in the ‘40s. We had a little Spinet piano in the corner of our trailer. I was allowed to play every evening if I wanted to and it was just something I could not tear myself away from. I listened to all kinds of music growing up. I played for The American Legion, The VFW, and marching in parades. I was immersed in all kinds of music. I learned more than the piano while I was in junior high and high school, and by the time I graduated in 1960, I had formed my own band and left for Nevada. During those early years – because I was the drum major in the high school marching band – I really enjoyed the marches of Sousa and many of the other composers and leading my own band in The National Anthem. Then (I was) working for the USO when I was 15 and 16 at McClellan and major Air Force bases in Sacramento…I got a good taste of the military and their sacrifice.
…I spent 20 years in Nevada writing music, playing for revues of all kinds, even dealing cards in the casinos where I learned the psychology of people under pressure, gambling, and drinking at the same time…So, there was a lot of input at that time, and there was something inside me that said, “Someday I’d like to write a song like (‘An American Trilogy’) that Elvis sings.” We were working in the same hotel several times and I listened to the song. It was inspiring. Of course, I learned a lot of the (patriotic) songs when I was learning my music in high school. I just said, “If I ever get to Nashville, and I think that’s probably where I will end up because L.A. chewed me up and spit me out, I’ll write a song kind of like the trilogy.”
Greenwood then recounted how it took him almost three years to get to Nashville as a touring artist, but at that time, no interest existed for releasing “God Bless the U.S.A.” as a single. All the rage in those days was cheesy love songs or ballads. That’s what was sitting at the top of the charts.
After the release of his album, “You’ve Got a Good Love Comin'” in 1984, the record company, Universal, requested that “U.S.A.” be released as a single. Greenwood was surprised. However, it took a bit of time for the song to catch on. It became the theme for the Tennessee National Guard, for Reagan and his presidential campaign in ’84, and then for Hurricane Katrine along with the 9/11 attacks.
…I’m a conservative Christian, and even though most people recognize the song who may not be Christian, or just don’t know how to sing the whole song (think) “I’m Proud to Be an American” is the title. I’ll go with that, and as far as on the sheet music MCA has listed, after pressure for many years, “God Bless the U.S.A.” (with the) subtitle “I’m Proud to Be an American.”
I’m O.K. with that. The reason I wrote that line was not just because my father served in World War II, and survived it by the way, but I hadn’t heard for many, many years that people were proud of their heritage. My heritage is American. Sure, I’m German, English, Irish, Scottish, but I was born in the United States of America and this is my heritage, American…So, when I said “I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free,” I know that resonated with every American who has lost a son or daughter in conflict combat, and maybe just the strife of how we exist here in America. There’s no other country like this that’s free like we are.
Beautiful story for a beautiful song.