B-side "Who's Your Daddy" Format CD Single, 7" vinyl Length 3:15 | Released May 27, 2002 Genre Country | |
Label DreamWorks Nashville 450815 | ||
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. The song was written in late 2001, and was inspired by Keith's father's death in March 2001, as well as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States later that year. It was released in May 2002 as the lead single from the album, Unleashed. The song topped the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart becoming his biggest solo hit on that chart.
Contents
Background
On March 24, 2001, Keith’s father, Hubert Keith (H.K.) Covel, was killed in a car accident. That event and the September 11, 2001 attacks prompted Keith to write the song "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)", a song about his father’s patriotism and faith in the USA. It took him 20 minutes to write the song. Keith declares that the song was written with reference to the war in Afghanistan, claiming to be indifferent on other conflicts, "But you don't have to listen but once to the words to understand that the song was strictly for Afghanistan."I have no stance on the Iraq war," he continues, "but the second [that I say], Ι have no stance there, I'm not smart enough to tell whether we should be in there or not". At first, Keith refused to record the song and only sang it live at his concerts for military personnel.
The reaction was so strong that the Commandant of the Marine Corps James L. Jones told Keith it was his duty as an American citizen to record the song. "It's your job as an entertainer to lift the morale of the troops," Jones said to Keith. "If you want to serve, that is what you can do." As the lead single from the album Unleashed (2002), "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue" peaked at number 1 on the country charts over the weekend of July 4.
In a November 2003 interview with CBS, Keith gave his take on the song: “It wasn’t written for everybody. And when you write something from your heart – I had a dad that was a veteran, taught me how precious our freedom is – I was so angry when we were attacked here on American soil that it leaked out of me. You know, some people wept when they heard it. Some people got goose bumps. Some people were emotionally moved. Some cheered, turned their fists in the air.”
The line, "'cause we'll put a boot in your ass / it's the American way," is part of the introduction of the Sean Hannity radio show that is played at the beginning of each hour.
The song was the last song aired by the Armed Forces Radio Network in Baghdad prior to ceasing operations in Baghdad during the drawdown from Iraq. It was selected by servicemembers who were polled.
Controversy
ABC invited Keith to sing "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" on a patriotic special it produced in 2002; however, the host of the show, Canadian-born newsman Peter Jennings, requested Keith soften the lyrics of the song or choose another song to sing. Keith refused both requests and did not appear on the special. The rift gave the song a considerable amount of publicity, which led to many national interviews and public performances of the song. During an interview with 60 Minutes, Keith spoke about his public comments about Jennings, saying "I thought it was hilarious. My statement was, ‘Isn't he Canadian?’ to a bunch of press. They laughed and then I said, ‘Well, I bet Dan Rather wouldn't kick me off his show,’" says Keith." Responding to criticisms of the network decision, a representative for ABC stated that because Keith was performing in Utah when the show would broadcast, Keith could be on the program only as the opening act, and that the song was "angry" and "not the kind of tone the producers wanted to use to begin this three-hour celebration."
Keith had a public feud with the Dixie Chicks over both the song and comments they made about President George W. Bush. The lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines, publicly stated that the song was "ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant." Keith responded by belittling Maines' songwriting skills, and by displaying a backdrop at his concerts showing a doctored photo of Maines with Saddam Hussein. On May 21, 2003, Maines wore a T-shirt with the letters "FUTK" on the front at the Academy of Country Music Awards. While a spokesperson for the Dixie Chicks said that the acronym stood for "Friends United in Truth and Kindness", many, including host Vince Gill, took it to be an obscene shot at Keith and understood the acronym to mean "Fuck You, Toby Keith." In August 2003, Keith publicly declared he was done feuding with Maines "because he's realized there are far more important things to concentrate on."
Maines later admitted that the FUTK shirt was, in fact, a shot at Keith.". In the 2006 documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, backstage footage prior to her appearance wearing the F.U.T.K. shirt recorded the conversation between Maines and Simon Renshaw and confirmed that the original intent of the shirt was, in fact, a shot at Keith in response to his criticism of her: the letters stood for "Fuck You Toby Keith".
Music video
The music video was directed by Michael Salomon and premiered in the summer of 2002. It features Keith performing on stage to a group of soldiers. It also shows footage of the soldiers on duty. An alternate version of the video which was used in rotation on CMT, and it shows clips from the 2002 Flameworthy Music Awards.
Commercial performance
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" debuted at number 41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs for the week of May 25, 2002. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 3, 2006, and platinum on March 27, 2012. The song has sold 1,450,000 digital copies in the U.S. as of July 2016.