Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)

Album

Unleashed

Label

DreamWorks Records (SKG)

Genre

Country

Composer(s)

Toby Keith

Entered Chart

Jun 8, 2002

Peak Date

Aug 3, 2002

Released

Unknown

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

DreamWorks (Nashville) Album Cut

Toby Keith wrote this song shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 based on what he thought his father's reaction to the terrorist attacks would have been. Keith's father, who died in a motor vehicle accident on March 24, 2001, was a US Army veteran, and Toby is pretty sure he would want America to fight back against its enemies, or as he says in the song, rain down courtesy of the red white and blue. This song established Toby Keith as an unwavering supporter of the American armed forces and a staunch supporter of the Bush administration. Those who didn't share Keith's views felt the song perpetuated a view of Americans as simple-minded thugs, particularly the lyrics, "We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way." Keith got a lot more attention in 2003 when he spoke out against The Dixie Chicks after group member Natalie Maines said she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." Toby Keith told the CBS show 60 Minutes that he wrote this song in just 20 minutes, a week after 9/11. At first, he planned to play it for troops on USO tours but not release the song. However, after playing it for Pentagon brass in Washington, the Marine Corps commandant said, according to Keith: "You have to release it. You can serve your country in other ways besides suiting up in combat." Stephen Colbert got a big kick out of the "put a boot in your ass" line, and when Toby Keith was his guest on The Colbert Report in 2006, Stephen was ready to make him the butt of some jokes. He thought better of it, and the two ended up becoming close friends, proof that folks from opposite ends of the political spectrum can get along. Colbert even gave the induction speech when Keith entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015. "I didn't know what to make of the boot up your ass guy," Colbert said in his speech about having Keith on his show. "But something down deep told me, 'Just relax. Listen to what this man was going to say and sing, and I just might have a good time.' And I think it's pretty much the reaction everybody has to Toby Keith: once you listen to what he has to say and sing, everybody has a good time." It's common for Christmas songs to return to the charts every year, but here we have a patriotic favorite that might be an Independence Day perennial. "Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)" returned to the Country chart at #8 in July 2025 and even reached #31 on the Hot 100. The song also re-charted in 2024 following Toby Keith's death. The song has particular Independence Day appeal because it mentions the 4th of July in the lyrics: Man, we lit up your world Like the 4th of July

American girls and American guys
We'll always stand up and salute
We'll always recognize
When we see Old Glory flying
There's a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our head

My daddy served in the army
Where he lost his right eye but he flew a flag out in our yard
'Til the day that he died
He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me
To grow up and live happy
In the land of the free

Now this nation that I love has fallen under attack
A mighty sucker punch came flyin' in from somewhere in the back
Soon as we could see clearly
Through our big black eye
Man, we lit up your world
Like the fourth of July

Hey Uncle Sam, put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty started shakin' her fist
And the eagle will fly, and it's gonna be hell
When you hear mother freedom start ringin' her bell
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Oh, brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue

Oh, and justice will be served and the battle will rage
This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage
And you'll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of A.
'Cause we'll put a boot in your ass
It's the American way

Hey Uncle Sam, put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty started shakin' her fist
And the eagle will fly, and it's gonna be hell
When you hear mother freedom start ringin' her bell
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Oh, brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue

Oh-oh, of the red, white and blue
Oh-oh-oh, of my red, white and blue