Format Music download Length 3:16 | Genre Country | |
Released June 13, 2011 (2011-06-13) Label Show Dog-Universal Music Writer(s) Toby Keith
Bobby Pinson
Scott Reeves | ||
"Made in America" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Toby Keith. It was released in June 2011 as the first single from his album Clancy's Tavern. The song was written by Keith with Bobby Pinson and Scott Reeves. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of October 15, 2011.
Contents
Background and writing
Keith wrote the song with frequent collaborator Bobby Pinson and actor/singer Scott Reeves. Keith told Billboard magazine that they wrote the song in early 2010 and he almost left it off the album because of the number of other patriotic songs he has recorded. Pinson told Taste of Country that he and Reeves started talking about buying American-made merchandise to support the country. After writing part of the song, they thought it sounded like something Keith would record, so Pinson took what he had finished to Keith, who helped him complete the song.To date, this is Keith's last song to hit number one on the charts.
Content
The song is an uptempo, in which an older farmer (Toby's own father, according to the song), a retired United States Marine, and his schoolteacher wife, who will only buy American products, are disgusted by the influx of foreign goods, from cars to cotton. The song features still photos of Toby Keith's father showing his tattoo that says Semper Fidelis and talking about how he "won't buy nothing that he can't fix, with WD-40 and a Craftsman wrench".
Critical reception
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song three stars out of five. He thought that Keith "sings with plenty of passion", but criticized the lyrics by saying, "While the song doesn’t feel like a remake of his previous anthems, it doesn’t live up to their high watermark, either." Matt Bjorke of Roughstock rated it four stars out of five, saying that while it is a 'list song', it had "strongly constructed lyrics".
Music video
Keith filmed the video in Cedarburg, Wisconsin during an Independence Day parade and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during his performance at Summerfest. It was directed by Michael Salomon.