Sunday, July 03, 2011

Songs for an Alternative 4th of July

We were at a baseball game (Nashua Silver Knights) and listened to the same old patriotic songs. If I was running the show, here are some alternatives I'd play:
  1. For those of you who understand that "Born in the USA" is NOT a patriotic song, try this one Bruce wrote after 9/11 - The death of Woody Guthrie led to the foundati...Image via Wikipedia"The Rising"
  2. Instead of "God Bless America", how about the song Woody Guthrie wrote in response to it - "This Land is Your Land"?
  3. While we're on protest singers, how about Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom"?
  4. For a more traditional song, try Ray Charles's version of "America the Beautiful".
  5. When someone criticizes the President and suffers because of it, here's the proper way to respond - Dixie Chicks "Not Ready to Make Nice". Here's to the power of the freedom of speech.
  6. Why this one isn't played more this weekend, I don't know. Might be the only rock song with the word "patriot" in it.- Little Steven "I Am a Patriot"
  7. The Man in Black goes patriotic - "Ragged Old Flag"
  8. You might think "R.O.C.K. in the USA" should be the choice here, but Melloncamp's "Small Town"  has a more patriotic feel to it. 
  9. Even the biggest cynic has to get misty with this one - SSgt. Barry Sadler, "Ballad of the Green Berets"
  10. Don't need to explain this one - "4th of July" by X
Johnny CashImage via Wikipedia

1 comment:

Kathleen said...

Nice list.

How about "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" by John Prine?