Happy Birthday America! You are 237 years old! Over these past couple of centuries; we, as Americans, wrote A LOT of music. Patriotic music glorifying our devotion to embracing our freedoms! We are free. We have made so much progress as a civilization! It’s easy to take things for granted. When folks like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence; we declared ourselves a free nation no longer a part of tyranny. No more oppressive power taking over the mind of man. We are not a dictatorship! Church and State are separate! We have rights as humans here in the United States. Thou shall not kill or steal! We shall love one another and work together and help one another! Music will save us.
Some people often forget the true meaning of the Fourth of July and focus only on the BBQ ribs, fireworks, and picnics. While all of this is sensational, especially spending time with your loved ones under the brilliantly filled magical skies while sitting on a pontoon boat in the middle of the lake, we should not forget why we celebrate our holidays. I wrote a poem. A LONG one. I also developed, with the assistance of my wife, a nice and fitting patriotic playlist to honor this great nation of ours. Music most certainly will save us.
But first the epic poem:
What does America mean?
Duty calls
Brother dies
Diversity celebrated
Riots in the street
History and variety
Faults too
I believe in its greatness, however
Vote and be informed
Or misinformed
Equal rights for all
Opinions everywhere
Fly our flags
Burning the flags
Sing the anthem
Mock one another
Full of pride!
Gay pride parades ruined
By hate crimes
Car bombs during a nice picnic
Let’s appreciate its great beauty and
Throw a pop can out the window
Men and women are equal
According to the law
But there’s domestic violence
everywhere
Stand up and march
Someone’s going to spit on you
So many natural splendors in the USA,
Religious beliefs, and
Economic opportunities
We’re uniquely free
To rob a liquor store
Or shoot someone in the face
Guns are legal after all
We’ve come here from so many places,
Terrorists living among us
So many spaces,
Visit the ghettos
And survive a night
Gang initiations on the streets
Yet we live so well together
We can enjoy being ourselves
Smoking crack,
Vandalizing neighborhoods,
Go skydiving,
Make pancakes for breakfast
We’re not always perfect
But we’re definitely free
We are many people but
As Americans
We are one
One kingdom of exceptional philosophy and culture,
Matchless politics yet a divided house
The economy is in the toilet
Social values are corrupted by Hollywood
Beliefs are taking God out of text books
Institutions that desensitize us
These distinguish us from others?
Our way of life
We are perhaps the only source of hope left in the world
It’s sad really
And the clock is ticking
It’s our spirits and our souls that can keep us alive
Familiarize yourself to this way of life
Love this country above all others
Being American requires more than merely living
In this country
Or speaking English,
Or obeying the law,
Or even holding a job!
Sure, that’s a very good start!
Where’s the compassion, the balance,
Or the gardening? Not enough
But we cannot stray too far from the lines
Of values
Hate must not take over
The outside cannot destroy us
Or we are doomed
And if we weaken, let down our guard
And lose our freedoms,
Then it will only be because
We did it to ourselves…
God Bless America!
While this all seems a bit sarcastic and brutally true at the same time, I do LOVE my country and the memories it provides. Music for me always stirs up emotions and wonderful memories. So I have a playlist below that sums up AMERICA. I’ll list the 15 tracks here in the preferred order and include a video for one of them below. I think these songs are amazing representations of American culture and what we live for and fight for, everyday.
Oh and the 3 cute girls below are my three nieces. Amanda, Sydney and Samantha. They are awesome examples of Americans! Even they enjoy the music I share with them. Past and Present.
1Coming To America…..Neil Diamond
2Battle of New Orleans…..Johnny Horton
3American Pie…..Don Mclean
4City of New Orleans…..Steve Goodman
5This Land Is Your Land…..Woodie Guthrie
6Hallelujah…..Justin Timberlake & Charlie Sexton
7America The Beautiful…..Ray Charles
8Star Spangled Banner…..Whitney Houston
9Firework…..Katy Perry
10Living in America…..James Brown
11Rockin’ in the Free World…..Neil Young
12Born in the U.S.A……Bruce Springsteen
13Salute To The Armed Forces…..Various
14God Bless America…..Martina McBryde
15God Bless The USA…..Lee Greenwood
The Music Bard 