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one of my Facebook "friends" posted something like this today and I thought it was a cool idea to share your favorites so thought I'd start a similar thread here:

List your favorite "patriotic songs" about America for July 4 - feel free to post links to free interweb version of the songs (youtube or whatever) if you like ...

"Born In The USA" by Springsteen was the first example given on the FB page

And of course the standards:
"Star Spangled Banner"
"God Bless America"
"Battle Hymn of the Republic"

A few of my favorites:

"This Land is Your Land" - Woody Guthrie

"America" - Waylon Jennings

"Ragged Old Flag" (spoken word performance) - Johnny Cash

"I Am A Patriot" - written by Steven Van Zandt (but I like the Pearl Jam live performances of this song best)

Thought this performance was worthy of a gun-related forum (pay attention to what he says about burning the flag)

[youtube][/youtube]

"Proud To Be An American" - Lee Greenwood

Here's another "gun-related" Fourth of July song I just ran across on youtube ... by Waylon's son Shooter Jennings (not bad, but still prefer different song with same title "Fourth of July" by Robert Earl Keen)

http://www.youtube.com/user/BVMTVOutlaw ... RH5UEwO5us" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

can't seem to embed this one

Toby Keith Courtesy of the Red White and Blue
[youtube][/youtube]
Ooh Rah

Good one, LL

[youtube][/youtube]

Might catch some grief on this forum for this choice, but I have always enjoyed and admired this "version" of the Star Spangled Banner (though I fully understand why some don't appreciate it). There's just something I find truly American about Hendrix's distorted version. If he did this to some other countries' national songs he'd be arrested, tortured, and killed by the government. And I guess that's what I appreciate so much - it's a statement of our freedom in this country that he was able to play this song in this manner.

Plus I just think some of the high notes of Francis Scott Key's song sound amazingly cool on an electric guitar.

[youtube][/youtube]

I always liked this one.

[youtube][/youtube]

Can't beat Ray Charles' version of this one ....

fast forward to about 1:30

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EDITED TO ADD: Wild Bill beat me to it

austinrealtor wrote:Might catch some grief on this forum for this choice, but I have always enjoyed and admired this "version" of the Star Spangled Banner (though I fully understand why some don't appreciate it). There's just something I find truly American about Hendrix's distorted version. If he did this to some other countries' national songs he'd be arrested, tortured, and killed by the government. And I guess that's what I appreciate so much - it's a statement of our freedom in this country that he was able to play this song in this manner.

Plus I just think some of the high notes of Francis Scott Key's song sound amazingly cool on an electric guitar.
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I think he does the song more justice than some of the people "singing" it at sporting events.

wow, an original live version of Born in the USA from 1984 (no embed) ...

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and a more recent version (don't think The Boss' voice can quite hit the same notes anymore - he's having to stretch out some of the lyrics he used to scream)

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Not a song, but a video from the Red Skelton TV show aired in 1969.

[youtube][/youtube]

[youtube][/youtube]

This one pretty much hits on every aspect of the American spirit!

Now two flags fly above my land that really sum up how I feel
One is the colors that fly high and proud
The red, the white and blue
The other ones got a rattlesnake with a simple statement made
"Don't tread on me" is what it says and I'll take that to my grave
Because this is me
I'm proud to be an American and strong in my beliefs

I got a big orange tractor and a diesel truck
And my idea of heaven is chasing whitetail bucks
And as a country boy you know I can survive

Cause Hank taught me just how to stay alive
You'll never catch me out the house without my 9 or 45

And my friend Austin Cunningham's "Guns and Religion"

http://www.myspace.com/music/player" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My main computer's broken, but here's some of mine:

God and Guns- Lynyrd Skynyrd
That Ain't My America-Skynyrd
That Ain't No Rag (That's My Flag), Let Freedom Ring, Simple Man-CDB
Star Spangled Banner-Ted Nugent (from the SA tea party event)
America-Waylon Jennings