God "Bless" The U.S.A.

[Sugar Smack]

by Lee Greenwood

If "tomorrow" all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d "thank" my "lucky stars",
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag "still" stands for "freedom",
and "they" can’t take that "away".

And I’m "proud" to be an American,
where at least I know I’m "free".
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that "right" to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God "bless" the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's "pride" in "every" American "heart",
and its time "we" stand and say.

That I’m "proud" to be an American,
where at least I know I’m "free".
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that "right" to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God "bless" the USA.

[spanone]

1. Bullshit song. Bullshit.

[Sugar Smack]

3. I know it is. That's why I edited it with my own ironic

quotation marks.

:hi: I coudn't agree more.

[spanone]

5. Sorry, sometimes the irony escapes me. grrrrr

[Sugar Smack]

19. LOL! That's OK. I promise you won't be the only one.

;-)

[TheGunslinger]

2. When that song first came out, I thought it was great

Overly sentimental, but it was a good way to sum up the joy of being American. Times were good back then.


Now, like several other things of late, I feel that sentiment has been co-opted and tainted by the stink of propaganda.


I love America. I love this land.


But I don't love what's being done in her name and I don't love what's being done to her by the fake patriots and war criminals in the government.

[Sugar Smack]

9. EXACTLY. You summed up the point I

was making without my explanation for my posting of the song. You said it better than I could have, so thanks!!

:D

[Roland99]

38. The pleasure or, rather, the sorrow, is mine.

[mcar]

31. That's exactly how I felt then too

and now. Thanks for putting it so well.

[bunkerbuster1]

95. yeah, I was astonished to hear my diehard lefty sister singing along

to this at a baseball game we attended last Fourth of July.

She probably loathes Republicans and phony jingoism 10x more than I muster on my worst day; but to her, that song is hers, and nobody is going to take it from her.

Weird, huh?

[boobooday]

4. where at least I know I’m "free".

Free, for a price, because freedom isn't free!

Some restrictions may apply . . .

Also, ahem, Men didn't die to GIVE us our RIGHTS. Rights are rights. If anything, they died to PROTECT our rights. But I thought the whole point of rights is that they are not given, but are inherent, inalienable, etc.

Bush likes to frame it this way too. Remember when he told the Native Americans that they had been "given" sovereignity? You get what we give you, people, when we decide to give it to you!

This song drives me nuts!

[Sugar Smack]

6. Drives me nuts, too!

It was this very persistent earworm yesterday (sorry to pass it on!) and I realized that half the words in the song could sensibly be wiped out.

[MuseRider]

8. That is the sad thing

it is catchy! I hate it, have had to play it occasionally in community bands and every time I do it stays and stays and stays. Grrrrrrr.

[boobooday]

15. This is known as a recursive loop

Some people are tormented for years! I read a research article about it once.

One guy came to the researchers, desperate, because he had been stuck with the "Duke of Earl" for like a decade. Poor guy!

But I think this song would be worse! It would surely make you mental.

[Sugar Smack]

49. You know what, that is really interesting because

I never knew there was another term besides "earworm" for that and that there was a field of study about it! Maybe I'll look it up. That "Duke of Earl" story made me laugh in spite of myself. Poor guy, indeed! I've had one or two weeks where I had a song stuck in my head, almost made me wanna blow my brains out (not really) but it WAS crazy-making. :o

Oh, GREAT. No name no slogan just read this story over my shoulder & now he's singing "Duke of Earl" and he won't shut up! AAAAAARGH!@ :grr: :nuke:

[Sugar Smack]

51. OH, GREAT! Now he's singing "Nuke of Earl".

Somebody shoot him. Or me.

[boobooday]

57. You may not want to read this

But another victim was stuck with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

WEEOOOHHH WUMAWAY

[Sugar Smack]

60. Oh my God!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: *that's not funny* :rofl: :rofl:

Hell on wheels, I'm LOL! That would be terrible!

[boobooday]

69. It would be funny to ask people

What is your worst nightmare for a recursive loop?

How about "Midnight at the Oasis"?

Or "You're having my baby"?

Muskrat love?

[Sugar Smack]

72. OMG, we must be around the same age. True story-

I really DID have "Midnight at the Oasis" stuck in my head once. It lasted for one day, and then I chased it away with Vivaldi. Do you think you & I could pair up & invent a drug that kills earworms? We could be millionaires. Someone recently came up with a drug for "Restless Leg Syndrome" (I'm sure you've heard about that) and they are marketing it at a fine pace, last I heard!

:bounce:

[boobooday]

77. Send your camel to bed!

I forget if the researchers really had any help for these people! Good music helps.

Maybe good music/different music is the only cure. It's so infectious, too -- my husband passed on a horrible one to me the other day -- I don't even WANT to remember what it was!

[donheld]

79. I like having "Midnight at the Oasis"

Stuck in my head. I wanna find me a nice shiek and "slip off to a sand dune real soon and kick up a little dust"

[Sugar Smack]

26. I'm sorry, sweetie.

:hug:

Hey! Maybe we could change the lyrics around a little bit, or maybe we could change them completely, and make it a song about the joys of monster trucking, OR about the FSM. The worship of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. :P I'd like that.

[MisterP]

83. the "Fixin' To Die Rag" is a good antidote!

[kcdoug1]

7. humm

I forget...when was it Lee Greenwood gladly stood up and defended his country?...

[txindy]

11. Whenever he sings that song, it would seem

Maybe his guitar is an insurgent and he's standing between it and us. Proudly, of course. :patriot:

:rofl:

[Sugar Smack]

14. NICE!!!

:rofl:

[bunkerbuster1]

96. Well, Woody Guthrie claimed his guitar was a machine

that "kills fascists."

FWIW.

[Sugar Smack]

13. LOL! Hey, welcome to DU!

Get this- I was in a karaoke bar in New Bern (not by choice, my friends dragged me along) on the waterfront. It was the day after a shriner's convention and the bartenders were still cleaning up and repairing barstools. One guy with a HORRIBLE voice, I mean PAINFUL to listen to, sang this song.

People joined in, everybody did. I wondered it it was out of "patriotism" or if it was to drown out the guy's voice. I just kept silent and looked around in horror.

:scared:

[newyawker99]

81. Hi kcdoug1!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[txindy]

10. Yippee for him

How many blessings would he be counting if that first stanza changed to "WITHOUT my wife and children?" He ought to take them and go live in Iraq. Proudly, of course. He'll find out the answer soon enough. Hey, he says he'll "gladly stand up...and defend her still today." Surely he doesn't mean domestically? Surely not. :eyes:

What an idiot Greenwood is to write such a thing. :freak:

[Sugar Smack]

16. Great answer!

That whole "pride" thing makes me shiver at this point. It makes my skin crawl when a republican gets a tear in his or her eye. Eugh. *shiver*

[hwmnbn]

12. Fuck Lee Greenwood!!......

no-talent bastard.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today

Then drop the microphone and get your chickenhawk ass over to Iraq!!.....or STFU!

[Sugar Smack]

18. LOL!!!!

Loved. Your. Reply.

"Then drop the microphone and get your chickenhawk ass over to Iraq!!.....or STFU!"

[flygal]

27. Great reply - lol

[SammyWinstonJack]

75. Except that slaughtering the Iraqis isn't defending America or Americans.

But that point is lost on the Lee Greenwood/Toby Keith/Clint Black/Charlie Daniels types and anyway writing :patriot: songs for their chicken hawk chicken shit fans earns them tons of money. :patriot: Supports the Troops. :patriot:

[Sugar Smack]

84. Eh, eh, eh,

as long as we're SPREADING FREEDOM. The more I hear about this spread, the more I want to taste it. Is it like cream cheese on a bagel? Rich and heady? Or is it a little watered down? :patriot:




:yourock: , by the way.

[patrice]

17. "Freedom" is relative.

We are not Free. We live in a very oppressive culture.

Many of "us" avoid real freedom.

Whatever anyone has ever done, any action for "freedom" must able stand completely on its own, without anyone else's support, because if it can't stand on its own, it is, by definition, dependent, and is NOT, therefore, Free.

[Vanje]

24. Lee Greenwood is free

No one is oppressing HIM.
He's free to choose health care providers.
He's free to choose his children's school.
He's free to select coach, or first class.
Lucky bastard. He's getting freer every day.
It wont be long before he's free to dictate whether his wife chooses to continue a pregnancy or not.

[Sugar Smack]

30. Brava-

VERY good answer-

:applause:

[patrice]

94. Al Franken and one of his producers (sorry I didn't get the name)

said on AAR recently that it seems that the troops in Iraq are mostly white and SOUTHERN. That made me think the Invasion of Iraq is another example of the "South" being used for the benefit of the "North". How do you suppose people like Lee Greenwood would respond to that?

Also my input above about - how that which depends upon the support of others is not "Free", because it NEEDS support - is straight out of Ayn Rand, the Holy Seer of so-called Conservatives.

[GOPisEvil]

20. How ironic that a chickenhawk records this drivel.

I guess he's like John Wayne. He's serving through his "art". Fuck these fake patriot chickenhawk motherfuckers. If you'd "gladly stand up", grab a rifle, dickhead.

Oh, and God Bless America or God Bless the USA is so fucking arrogant. Why should God single US out? No wonder people hate us.

[Sugar Smack]

21. Darling baby!!! Hey-

:hug: :loveya:

Fuck them, indeed. The arrogance is overwhelming. It almost reads like some damn gospel song, with all the voices joining in at the end of it.

[GOPisEvil]

28. Hey there, darlin'!

This "song" just brings out the cussin' in me. ;)

:loveya:

[txindy]

33. Probably doesn't help that it's been played so d@mn much in Texas

I can still stand the 'Don't Mess With Texas' slogan, for some reason. Maybe because, in my mind, it is still closely associated with literally trashing the environment - which is also true for the Cabal, actually. Hmmm.

[GOPisEvil]

37. Oh I don't mind "DMWT" when its used properly.

I think the ads have always been clever and to the point.

What I can't stand is their MIS-USE by sports programs, and those who like projecting an "assholish" image. All it does is piss people off, but I think a lot of Texans enjoy that.

[txindy]

40. I caught just a quick glimpse of the new one yesterday

Was that Vince Young? They had so many spokespeople that I didn't catch them all. Could only keep one eye on the screen and they flew by too quickly.

And, yes, agreed about a lot of Texans enjoying ticking people off. I do, too. Just not the same people.

[GOPisEvil]

48. Lots of musicians, actors, etc.

I didn't see Vince, but I block him out. ;)

[Sugar Smack]

35. You know what, I just realized that! You don't usually cuss.

I also love your use of quotation marks around the word "song". LOL!

[neweurope]

22. give me a moment while i

:puke:

On edit: What gives US citizens the feeling - knowledge it cannot be - that they are the only free people in the world? Europeans are much "freer" than you are and have been for decades.



-------------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[Sugar Smack]

34. I think the same way about Europe,

My father has been all over the world, and he talked about Europe so much, took my brother & me there twice. We SAW differences with our own eyes, and I've gotta tell you, I feel like moving there more & more every day. :pals:

[neweurope]

39. Glad to hear it :)

Come on over and we'll have a good beer!

:toast:

-------------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[Sugar Smack]

43. Hey, I just may take you up on it!

My original post was from pure irony; I can't really stand that song, and I especially enjoyed putting the quotation marks around the word "free". :)

[neweurope]

47. I understood that. When you're ever in the Frankfurt area

stop on by :hi:

-----------------------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[MindPilot]

23. Actually the guy's bio is kind of interesting

http://www.leegreenwood.com/index.php?p=bio

He looks like he's a bit too old to join up now, but he probably wasn't during the first Gulf War which he used as a springboard to launch his disgusting faux-patriotic pandering. Another chickenhawk asshole getting rich on the backs of our troops.

[Sugar Smack]

55. I know. That's absolutely GROSS.

"disgusting faux-patriotic pandering" covers it with precision. Thanks for the link!

[Clark2008]

25. Unfortunately, I know Lee Greenwood and I've always

hated this song because he's such a friggin' jerk.

The reasons why I think he's an asshole are too long and too many to take up bandwidth here, but let's just say Lee thinks he's a bigger star than he is (both literally because he's a tiny man with a big man complex and figuratively).

:puke:

[Sugar Smack]

29. Wow. You KNOW him?

*begging* PLEASE give us a sample, just one!!! I'm SURE he's a jerk, because there are SO MANY jerks and hypocrites out there who trumpet themselves ad nauseum.

It was fun for me to pick out all the stupid words in his song and put quotation marks around them.

[Clark2008]

32. I was a reporter in the Sevierville/Pigeon Forge area for 8 years.

So here's a story:

I was at a fundraising event (I was covering it for the newspaper there) and there were a lot of local celebs at the event.

As you may know, Dolly Parton is from that area, but she's a megastar and isn't always available to come to many events, even though she has done more than her fair share in working for charity there.

Anywho, there was a Dolly look-alike at this particular event - it wasn't meant as a slight to the real Dolly or even as a "stand in" for her; however, Lee, who's standing next to me, grabs me and says, "Damn, it must be nice to have a look-alike who can come to these stupid events for you."

I just looked at him like he was the worst cretin on the face of the planet.

BTW, he's a short man - and I'm only 5'1", so I'm certainly not saying anything bad about short people - but he has to drive these HUGE, and I mean HUGE, SUVs to compensate for his lack of stature. His wife is also about as plastic as I've seen a woman. They're just so fake, they make me sick.


P.S.: Lee used to have a music theater in that area and lived in Sevierville, so he was at a lot of functions I covered. He never ceased to make me vomit nearly every time I met him.

[Sugar Smack]

41. HAHAHAHA! Assuming he had a "household name" like

Dolly Parton. Assuming he was enough of a big star to have people recognize his lookalike as him. Hehehe! God, what a great illustration you've given us! Thank you so much!!!:D

[Clark2008]

46. What ticked me off is that he obviously was only at the

charity event because he thought he had to be there - not that he cared about raising money for the charity.

Such a jerk.

[Sugar Smack]

65. Oh, WOTTA guy.

I'm sure he was pleased with himself at so grudgingly attending a charity event. Poor bastard. Wonder if the woman with the purple-heart bandaid on her chin was at that event. Bet he makes her drool (apologizing for the imagery).

[rucky]

45. Wow. You must really, really "know" Lee Greenwood

if you know that.

(just teasing) the thought of it makes me :puke:

[Clark2008]

50. Oh, hell NO!! I wouldn't "know" Lee Greenwood in the Biblical

sense if he was the last man on earth!!

:puke:

Ewww... you gave me the willies. :puke:

I'm gonna have to go grab my husband out of the shower, throw him down and do things to him to make me forget you put that other thought in my head now.

BTW, you'll probably be my hubby's best friend in about an hour. :evilgrin:

[Sugar Smack]

52. LOL!!!!!!!

*sorry* :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :spray: :rofl:

[global1]

36. Bush "Damned" The USA - a slight variation of the original........

Found this version in cyberspace.

Bush "Damned" The U.S.A.

(Sung to the melody of Lee Greenwood’s
God Bless the USA)

Tomorrow when all the things are gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I have to pledge allegiance to
Dubya Bush and his poor wife.

He took the Constitution
And interpreted his own way
‘And the flag that stood for "freedom",
Well he’s taken that "away".

Now I’m "scared" to be an American,
Where one time I did feel "free".
And I won’t forget the men who lied,
And taken that from me.

And I’ll sadly stand up,
Defeated, and offended here today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt he took this land,
Bush "damned" the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
To the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to New Orleans,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's "fear" in "every" American "heart",
And its time "we" stand and say.

That we’re "scared" to be Americans,
Where one time we did feel "free".
And we won’t forget the men who lied,
And screwed up history.

And I’ll sadly stand up,
Defeated, and offended here today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt he took this land,
And squandered it away – Bush ‘damned’ the US

[Sugar Smack]

42. Oh, BEAUTIFUL.

Beautiful. Beautiful. OK, if I could nominate a post, or a song. I just hope MuseRider sees this! Thank you for sharing.

:bounce: :toast:

[rucky]

44. Here's my version:

My pink slip says "tomorrow all the things are gone,
I’d worked for all my life."
My pension now a second home,
for a CEO's mistress and his wife.

Feds listen to our phone calls,
and search our homes when we're away.
But at least you can get married,
just as long as you're not gay.

And I’m proud to be an American,
though the liberals disagree
And I'll work to let my country,
be run by Jesus and the military.

And I gladly sit back,
and watch FOX news, where my heroes get their fair say.
Like the yellow sticker on my minivan,
"God bless the USA."

[Sugar Smack]

53. GOOD one! Did you do that?

That was excellent. You have got talent.

"And I’m proud to be an American,
though the liberals disagree
And I'll work to let my country,
be run by Jesus and the military."


:applause:

[Olney Blue]

54. Good rewrite, rucky

"run by Jesus and the military"

Brilliant.

[ThatsMyBarack]

85. You can also say....

"Like the yellow sticker on my SUV"

[Sugar Smack]

86. absolutely.

That was wonderful, wasn't it?

[rucky]

91. but that doesn't rhyme with "American"

more fitting, though. heck, I drive a minivan.

[Sugar Smack]

56. Another point: I'd like to know who "they" are.

Who are "they"?

"And they can't take that away".

Who's THEY? What an asshole.

[AX10]

58. Simplisitic right wing jingoism from a jingoist.

I can't stand Greenwood (POS-Parasite on the Earth). America is about more than his stupid song.

[Sugar Smack]

61. So simplistic. Sucking-up. And utter tripe...

The words he uses to reel people in "wife & child", "love this land" and "freedom". Also, the way he belts out that shit about "standing tall". You see? My blood pressure's going up. :o

[onehandle]

59. Amen! Especially White Males. We Rule! Literally. nt

[Sugar Smack]

63. "Get a brain! Morans"

"GO USA" *snort* "We rule" kinda made me think of that poor slob who's famous now because of that picture of him. ;-)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

62. "Patriotism is the..passion of fools." Greenwood exemplifies that.

"Patriotism is the most foolish of passions and the passion of fools." - Schopenhauer

[spanone]

64. Lee is Free to Never be on My Radio!!! Faux Patriotism to sell records.

Right there with Daryl Worley.

[Sugar Smack]

70. The only thing I ever responded to after 911, music-wise,

was Tom Petty in a fundraiser, singing, "I Won't Back Down" and staring into the camera with a very intense look. That gave me the chills. The words are purposeful, the intent could be anything, and the meaning is palpable. "God bless the USA" is as transparent as scrim.

[Sugar Smack]

67. Schopenhauer is turning in his grave every time

this song comes on the radio. And probably :puke:

Reminds me of a line from Woody Allen's movie "Hannah & Her Sisters": "If Jesus came back...and saw what was going on in his name...He'd never stop throwing up."

[Initech]

66. Reminds me of a David Cross bit:

"And I will surely STAND UP next to you and defend her still today... well, here's your chance, asshole!"

[Sugar Smack]

68. Oh, he'll stand up.

He'll stand up, maybe for the Pledge of Allegiance, if it makes him a little cash, and then he'll just sit right back down.

[Initech]

78. I'm sure that the morning after 9/11, he was thinking:

"Hello, 9/11 remix!"

[Sugar Smack]

87. Yeah. "Here's the rubble. Perfect,"

fucking asshole.

Standing on top of it.

Like an asshole. I'll never forgive him.

[stepnw1f]

71. Why Did This Address Ping Me: freedom.ri.uni-tuebingen.de?

This address tried connecting to my computer when I opened this thread...

any explanations?

[Sugar Smack]

73. whaaaaa....

:o No way! Are you kidding? Really?

[stepnw1f]

74. Yup... and these as well...

planetlab2.cs.Virginia.EDU

128.112.139.96

[Sugar Smack]

76. Here's a guess

(btw this is no name no slogan posting this under Sug's handle)

I work on the interwebs, and my guess is that one of our users here connects to the web thru that server. Judging by the address, I would guess that it's coming from a server named "freedom" at the University of Teubingen in Germany.

IMHO nothing to worry about really-- just an odd coincidence that the machine "freedom" is connecting to this thread.

:hi:

[donheld]

80. WORST. SONG. EVER! eom

[Sugar Smack]

82. Just awful.

I was always amazed at the awful-ness of that song. Also, my brother & I took a little road trip to Laguna to watch a race. It was on his company's dime. The woman who sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" had her vioce break on the word "brave".

I thought that was extremely funny! :D

[GRLMGC]

88. Oh dude

they played that at my swearing in ceremony when I became a citizen. God awful. Man, if you're gonna choose a "patriotic" song, then at least make sure it doesn't suck all ass!

[Sugar Smack]

89. EWWW.

All I can say is, I'm sorry. :hug:

[GRLMGC]

90. hahaha

Well, it wasn't as bad as being welcomed into citizenship by the douche that inhabits the White House

[tjwash]

92. Fuck him and Charlie Daniels

Both of them are no serving, chickenshit, cowards.

[Sugar Smack]

93. Yup!!!!!

:loveya:

I'm with you all the way, padre.