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

At first, Toby Keith refused to record the song and only sang it live at his concerts for military personnel. The reaction, however, 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 a singer to lift the morale of the troops,” Jones said to Keith. “If you want to serve, that is what you can do.”

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.”

For years, Toby Keith‘s father “begged” him to go out on USO Tours. “I was so busy,” said Keith. “We were doing 130 shows a year that I just didn’t have in my schedule.” On March 24, 2001, Keith’s father, Hubert K. Covel Jr., an Army veteran who fought in the Korean War, died in a fatal car accident at the age of 67. “Finally, he passed away in March [of 2001],” said Keith, “and then 9/11 happened. I was like, ‘Now I have to go honor him.’”

Several months later, following 9/11, the chain of events prompted Keith to write one of his biggest hits, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue,” the opening track on his 2002 album Unleashed.
Within 20 minutes Keith wrote the lyrics to the song on the back of a Fantasy Football sheet with the working title “The Angry American.”

An homage to Keith’s father, who lost an eye while serving in the Korean War and always flew the flag in their yard, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)” was also unapologetically patriotic.

“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” – Single by Toby Keith from the album Unleashed
B-side: “Who’s Your Daddy”
Released: May 27, 2002
Songwriter: Toby Keith
Producer: James Stroud
Charted No.1 US Country Songs; No1. US Billboard Hot 100

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
Until 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