Talk:God Bless the U.S.A.

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Untitled[edit]

A stub, with a link to a webpage with the lyrics.

The criticism of Cross' criticism makes no sense. The line is "I'd stand up next to you and defend her still today", not "Thank you for standing up etc. etc." It's Greenwood saying that he himself would stand up and fight.

Vfd[edit]

On 25 Mar 2005, this article was nominated for deletion. The result was keep. See Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/God Bless the USA for a record of the discussion. —Korath (Talk) 01:40, Mar 31, 2005 (UTC)

That link didn't take me to lyrics ... it took me to a commercial site. Please check and make sure the link goes to a Wiki appropriate page. Link is to http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=33:9zadq1k5ojha under external links with alt text "Allmusic Entry" 72.251.0.61 (talk) 00:36, 29 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Cultural References POV[edit]

The Cultural References section seems to be an argument between Cross-fans and fans of the song (or Greenwood) that belongs on the Talk page. That the song inspires intense dislike from some to equal the intense pride, etc. of others is a significant point. The examples don't convey that well to me, and they do say a lot more that seems inappropriate. Any complaints to deleting the back-and-forth?Czrisher 14:33, 10 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Instead of deleting the section, maybe transform it into a section about how polarizing the song is (because it most definitely is polarizing). I would do it, but I absolutely despise the song on so many levels that I can't even begin to pretend to be NPOV on the whole issue.--Nobunaga24 02:43, 19 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Nobunaga24 is from Japan; of course he dosen't like the song. A systemic bias against Americans. 69.245.80.218 (talk) 09:27, 22 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am an American working in Japan, not a Japanese citizen. And I served for 12 years in the U.S. Army. I hate the song because a) the melody is annoying b) the lyrics are inane, simplistic, and uninspiring c) Lee Greenwood never spent a day in the military and pounds his chest about he will stand up and defend America. Well, that hero had his chance as a young man, but of course it was easier to let someone else do it while he fought the good war on the homefront, whatever that entailed. And I would be delighted to hear how despising a mediocre country song constitutes a systematic bias against Americans. --Nobunaga24 (talk) 06:25, 17 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Lee Greenwood never makes any references in the song or in life that he ever served in the military! This song is a thank you to all who did serve and politicians are the ones who bring this song out for war time. ^[1]

Does anyone know when he wrote God Bless Canada, the Canadian version of the song? Was it about the same time as God Bless the USA?-- Jeanbry (talk) 23:10, 12 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Keep it civil, everybody. --Stlemur (talk) 07:39, 3 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The song pretends that the United States is a uniquely free country while impiedly recognizing its rotten aspects: "Where at least I know I'm free." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:205:101:5952:61DE:A42C:A134:48BD (talk) 18:36, 2 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding this: http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/04/09/school-wants-kids-to-sing-worst-song-in-history/

From the URL I suppose this is an atheist site, but I wondered why they call it the worst song in history? Worse than songs the Nazis used to encourage loyalty to their regime? How is it the worst? And is this controversy interesting enough to include in the article? 99.9.112.31 (talk) 18:33, 9 April 2012 (UTC)NotWillRoss[reply]

References

^ http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/greenwood.asp

Updated Quality Assessment[edit]

Based on the factors on Wikipedia:Assess, enough of the content meets B-Class status. Therefore, I have upgraded from Auto Stub class. I did briefly debate between B and C class but the only criterion that would have held it back from B was the lack of references for some of the material. Inomyabcs (talk) 12:21, 23 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Chart History[edit]

While it's clear that this song has had a remarkable history of reappearing on the charts, especially in times of patriotism, there are all sorts of problems with the following sentence in the second paragraph: "With the three top five appearances in the top 100 Country Music charts during the song's lifetime (1991, 2001, and 2003), it has become the only song to do so,[citation needed] beating the record held by Chubby Checker's dance song, The Twist, which went to number one in 1960, and again in 1962." First of all, there's no citation given (a fact I have noted in the article). Also, if the country music chart being referenced is the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) chart, none of the versions reached the top 5: I can't find any mention of the 1991 appearance, the 2001 version peaked at #16, and the 2003 charting single (which was by the American Idol Finalists, not Greenwood) peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 but did not make the country charts. These facts make the comparison with Checker's "The Twist" inapt, as the same recording of "The Twist" entered and rose to #1 on the Hot 100 on two separate occasions (and had no appearances on the country charts, as far as I can tell).

I suggest replacing that sentence with some less ambitious statements. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DrewDC (talk • contribs) 14:15, 2 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

no mention of song popularity during 1985- 86, freedom of navigation operations gulf of sidra "line of death" north of libya. there was a video made for u.s.s. coral sea. randy jump. that's both me signing and citing resource.

Lyrical changes[edit]

I could have sworn that in Jump5's cover of the song, they changed the line "and I'll gladly stand up next to you" to "and I'll sadly stand up next to you", referencing the then-recent September 11 attacks. They also changed "children and my wife" to "family by my side", since the lead singer was female. FiredanceThroughTheNight (talk) 03:10, 11 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Why I added the NPOV tag[edit]

While this song has many fans on the right, many on the left take issue with the lyrics calling it overwrought and jingoistic and saying it glorifies war and trumpets self-righteousness. As such, we really need to include critical appraisal of the song especially it's lyrics and message in order to be NPOV. Here is a link to help get whoever wants to tackle this task started: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/my-fellow-liberals-hate-lee-greenwoods-god-bless-the-usa-i-love-it/2017/06/30/e09ce46a-5a9f-11e7-9fc6-c7ef4bc58d13_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9b0a6f5accef --Notcharliechaplin (talk) 02:05, 21 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

This article doesn't give any appraisal of the song, positive or negative. In other words, it's neutral. I've removed the NPOV tag. Dan Bloch (talk) 20:35, 30 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Update the Lead to mention the song's use in Trump rallies? Suggestion[edit]

Should we add a mention of the song's use by candidate and then President Trump at his rallies since 2015 and at his inauguration? One reference is here. Another is here. And a final one here. Seems to be sufficiently notable for an addition to the song history in the article, but I wanted to bring it up here first due to the past (and current) controversy around the song. Geoff | ^{Who, me?} 21:25, 12 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

This sounds like good content for some Legacy or Influence section. --Luminoxius (talk) 05:48, 7 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Beyoncé image appears irrelevant[edit]

It is not clear why, of the multiple artists/groups who released cover versions of the song, Beyoncé deserves an image for description. The current citations in the article do not seem to indicate outstanding influence of this particular version. Even if this version does stand out among all others, in which case additional citations would be needed, an image of the artist performing the song in a notable occasion shall be used instead of a general image of the artist (the latter appears to be the case). --Luminoxius (talk) 06:05, 7 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

[1] ttp://www.snopes.com/music/artists/greenwood.asp

[1]