[EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. DeMarco sent this with the following apology: “This column is old and was written for July 4th so you may not want to run it. But it does describe the ongoing argument we are having about America’s history, such as in exhibits at the Smithsonian.” No need to apologize. The lack of timelines might be an appropriate concern for a newspaper, but I write here about such things as the Late Bronze Age Collapse. That was in the 12th century B.C. So no worries…]
By Paul V. DeMarco
Guest Columnist
I’m willing to admit I am as much a sucker for a sentimental tune as the next guy. Am I going to confess here before my tens and tens of faithful readers that Taylor Swift’s “Tim McGraw” makes me tear up every time I hear it? No comment.
But, as I ponder my most recent July 4th celebration, I’m wondering why “God Bless The USA,” our now ubiquitous patriotic anthem, does not strike the right note for me. As I watch my fellow Americans swept up in its rousing chorus, I don’t go there with them.
I felt this acutely this year because on Sunday, July 6th, our church’s praise band played “This Land is Your Land” and my heart did swell; that patriotic flush did seize me.
I’m not the first to compare these two different visions of America, and I’m disappointed that the songs are sometimes sung by one political party at the other. GBUSA is much more likely to be heard at a Republican event, TLIYL at a Democratic one. True to form, Jennifer Lopez sang TLIYL at Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration; Lee Greenwood, who wrote GBUSA, played it at Donald Trump’s in 2025. Trump has also featured it prominently at his rallies.
I’m off balance from the first line of GBUSA:
If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife
I’d thank my lucky stars to be livin’ here today
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can’t take that awayAnd I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA
I’m trying to imagine what tragedy has befallen the protagonist in the song — bankruptcy, eviction, fire or flood? I’ve seen people in all those situations, and their responses are rarely, “At least I know I’m free.” Perhaps it’s because we often take that freedom for granted. But the much more common response, in addition to the grief for the loss, is gratitude for those who come to help.
The “men who died” also catches me. On July 4th, we do celebrate a freedom from foreign enemies that was won in blood, almost exclusively by male soldiers, in the American Revolution and World War II. But, fortunately, since Vietnam, a war we now realize we didn’t have to fight, fewer than 6,000 service members have been killed in combat. We understand that the strength of our nation is in keeping the peace, and our Armed Forces are now approximately 17% female.
GBUSA is a song that is written to appeal to southern (“ain’t no doubt”), male veterans. I’m the first two of those. My father, the man I respect the most, is the third. He spent more than two decades in the Air Force. And as the song says, I am proud to be an American.
The song that expresses that pride more authentically for me is Woody Guthrie’s TLIYL. Guthrie the man is an interesting, complex human being. I don’t agree with everything he said or did. But the lodestar of his life seems to be an interest in the plight of the working man and an aversion to greed. Leaving Guthrie the person for another day, TLIYL takes a different approach to our nation’s greatness. Guthrie wrote the song in 1940 as a response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” which he found saccharine and out of touch with the bleak lives many poor families were living as the Great Depression dragged on. He originally titled the song, “God Blessed America for Me” to drive home the message that those blessings were for everyone, not just the privileged.
Greenwood conveys a pugnaciousness that is part of the American character: You will have to pry my freedom from my cold, dead hands. But that’s not most of American life. When is the last time as a civilian, you felt you had to stand up to a foreign invader who was threatening your freedom? Indeed, most of the concern about losing our freedom is currently being expressed from the left-about our own government’s actions.
What TLIYL captures so masterfully are the quotidian ideas that hold us together: the bounty and beauty of our landscape, our shared sense of purpose, the worthiness of every member of society.
In researching this piece, I learned that Guthrie wrote several other verses meant to skewer Berlin’s “God Bless America” that we no longer sing, one of which is:
In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?
Perhaps on July 4th we don’t want to be reminded that America is not yet the shining city on a hill that we hope it to be. But I would rather we sing that verse to remember our flaws and to provoke us to become the more perfect union that our founding document exhorts us to be.
A version of this column appeared in the July 16th edition of the Post and Courier-Pee Dee.
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I love when DeMarco shares his thoughts in your column.
I find his comments well considered and agreeable to me!!
A few scattered comments:
I could say other things, but i should probably stop now…
I like both.
Lee Greenwood has sort of turned it into a political song – much more so than what I remember it being when it first came out in the 1980s. It’s helped his career wish which I guess I can’t really blame him too much. He doesn’t talk a lot of politics as I recall. He’s in his 80s now. But I like the song. I know what he’s saying, and I realize he’s not really trying to write a history lesson.
I also like Born in the USA. I think this line Bruce Springsteen wrote is a book in itself and wonderfully done..
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
Each time I hear that lyric I think of a young man who grew up near my parents in the upstate. My dad knew him. He was 20. Never been away from home my dad told me. Never had a girlfriend. Sent to Vietnam and was shot in the stomach after being there a month. His parents never got over it of course. I would see them at our church growing up. I always thought they had a sad look about them. Wonderful people, quiet, didn’t say much, strong type- both husband and wife. They were at church every time the doors were open but mostly kept to themselves. When I got to be a bit older, I always wondered what they thought of it all. I doubt anyone ever asked.
They kept his car that he had just bought before leaving. I got to see that car in their barn when I was about 18 years old. That’s when it really hit me. I think of him every Memorial Day- and other days too.
Lost his life because some damn politicians chose to waste his life for no reason. Hopefully hell is truly hell for them.
I wouldn’t know Lee Greenwood if I ran into him on the street. So I looked at the picture Paul sent with his column, and…
First thing, I’m offended by the jacket. Just as the flag isn’t supposed to touch the ground, it’s not supposed to be cut up and made into garments — which is what this suggests, even though I feel sure that material never formed an actual flag.
It’s particularly tacky for HIM because he’s saying, Look at me! I’m Mr. America, because of that song! This is my uniform. It proves I’m way more patriotic than you!
A flag on the stage would be fine. Red, white and blue lights on the backdrop would be OK. But this is off-putting. At the very least, it’s presumptuous.
Of course, once I get critical, I keep going, and I notice the BS intentional stubble on his face. I don’t know why that’s a fashion choice for some mediocre people in the entertainment field. Bugs me every time I see it. It’s not that we just woke him up — he must have spent half and hour slicking back his hair like that. What are these people trying to say — that they shaved just before they came out, but it pops out like this in five minutes because they’re so danged masculine?
Want to look like a man? Grow a beard! And not one of those hesitant, fussy little sculptures that take you more time than shaving — a REAL beard. Here’s what those look like…
IN fairness to Lee, that’s a pretty old picture and his face has always been like that with what appears 4-5 days of stubble- like for decades. I think it’s just a closely cropped beard.
The flag jacket is way over the top. Thankfully, that’s a bit odd for him. He’s usually in a suit or sport coat.
Duly noted! 🙂
I’ve been using 5Calls to be a PIA to Rep. Wilson (T-SC2), Senators Graham (T-SC), Scott (T-SC). There was an item in the Big, Ugly Bill to auction off public lands. Woody Guthrie’s, This Land Is Your Land, and Joni Mitchell’s, Big Yellow Taxi came to mind. I didn’t like the 5Calls script, so with my suggestion to use TLIYL to Microsoft Copilot (AI), it came up with this:
Hi, my name is Ralph Hightower, and I’m a constituent from ***.
I’m calling to urge to oppose H.R. 1 and any provisions that allow the sale or industrial use of our public lands. These lands were meant for all of us—not for oil tycoons, tech billionaires, or timber barons.
Woody Guthrie reminded us that “This land is your land, this land is my land,” and those words still ring true. From the redwood forests to the Carolina pines, these places belong to the people—not to be fenced off, drilled out, or sold to the highest bidder.
If we start selling off our common heritage, we’re not just losing land—we’re losing a piece of who we are. As Woody might’ve put it: “As I went walking, I saw a sign there / And on the sign it said ‘No Trespassing’ / But on the other side it didn’t say nothing / That side was made for you and me.”
Please vote against H.R. 1 and stand up for the land we share.
Thank you for your time.
—
PS: Look up Bruce Springsteen on YouTube for TLIYL.