Taking Suggestions
As a service for the poor bastard who found my blog by googling "worship songs for 4th of July," I offer a few suggestions and am asking for your input as well.
Toby Keith, American Soldier
Lee Greenwood, God Bless the U.S.A.
Darryl Worley, Have You Forgotten
Why are all of them country? Here we go:
American Idiot, Green Day
Bright Eyes, Four Winds
Bright Eyes, When the President Talks to God
Dead Kennedys, Stars and Stripes of Corruption
The Clash, I'm so Bored with the U.S.A.
Black Flag, American Waste
I guess the question here is why are so many anti-American songs by old punk bands? Even Green Day, who made a resurrection album with American Idiot, is an older punk band. Where are the mainstream voices? Oberst, though talented, is hardly mainstream. Let me know what I'm missing. I'd love for churches to have some options this holiday season.
Ah, I see you've skipped over the traditional patriotic hymns that grace so many of our songbooks and hymnals.
It's not exactly mainstream, but Carman's "We Need God in America Again" would make a helluva worship song...I can see the worship leader reading out the spoken word parts, with a chorus behind him oohing and aahing, and then the whole church joins in with thunderous gusto, raising the roof when it gets to the chorus.
Ugh.
Posted by: GKB | June 22, 2007 at 06:06 PM
gkb,
I skipped the standards on purpose. I assumed that this person, call him worship leader x, would have known about "America the Beautiful" and "God Bless America." I was trying for something a little less obvious and a little more worshipful...I do love your suggestion though. Carman Rocks!
Posted by: greg | June 22, 2007 at 06:13 PM
i spotted some marquee ministry yesterday...some church on 36th st. is evidently having "God & Country Sunday" this week.
Posted by: josh mccullock | June 22, 2007 at 06:27 PM
How about "Horst-Wessel-Lied"?
But really, I'm proud to be an American, where at LEAST I know I'm free...not like those commie idiots in China or in Africa where they live in mud huts and don't even have a government, what a bunch of morons, at least I'm free. Or how about those filthy Mexicans, man they're dying to get over here so they can be like me...proud and free...oh yeah and christian too (cause I ain't goin' to hell with all those "not free" types)
Posted by: fiodax | June 22, 2007 at 11:52 PM
Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now In The Fire, Year of the Boomarang, Know Your Enemy. Rage version of Tom Joad.
Speaking of versions. Original N.W.A.- Fuck tha Police.
I have not listened to much of Tom Morello's solo stuff, but I here it is pretty anti-american. That would be current and new.
You could question some U2 songs. Are they anti, or just try to push us in a purposeful way. Bulllet the Blue Sky, Sunday Bloody Sunday. Later maybe not about Americe specifically, but about any country at war. Also they are not new.
E.D.L. - American Standard
Pushing being dated but what about My United States of Whatever?
Songs that don't make you happy, or make you think just don't bring in the cash man. I gotta go party like a rockstar now.
Posted by: Jeff short | June 23, 2007 at 12:07 AM
Ok I have a few of both genre's for church services. Bill Gaither and "Jesus needs a few good men" and Pearl Jam with "Bush Leaguer" which, for the record, was put out long before a lot of these bands jumped on the bad wagon of Bush bashing and anti war themes. But I believe at this point their best anti war song has to be the one they borrowed from Bob Dylan, "Masters of War". Which is an incredible song.
Let's not forget that Norah Jones put one on her latest cd called, "My Dear Country".
Plus Def Leppard put one on their Hysteria cd, "Gods of War" which seems more timely now than it did when it came out in the 80's.
Posted by: Adam Smithee | June 23, 2007 at 07:08 AM
How about the old school Guess Who song "American Woman" for the younger folks it wasn't original to Lenny Kravitz:)
Posted by: Dino | June 23, 2007 at 07:55 PM
Born in the USA, Springsteen.
Posted by: cheese | June 23, 2007 at 09:56 PM
Neil Young's album from last year, Living With War: "Let's Impeach the President", "After the Garden", and "Flags of Freedom", which pays homage to Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom". Or his classic from around 1990, "Rockin' in the Free World".
Jackson Browne from Lives in the Balance: "For America" and "Lives in the Balance" and from World in Motion: "I Am A Patriot".
Posted by: Zossima | June 24, 2007 at 07:13 AM
Your new friend could fill out a whole worship weekend with Dylan.
Posted by: Zossima | June 24, 2007 at 07:21 AM
"Keep on Rockin' in the Free World" by Neil Young
"Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin, for the altar call.
Posted by: dorsey | June 24, 2007 at 08:26 PM
Keepin with the Neil Young collection: Southern Man & Four Dead in Ohio
Posted by: Dino | June 24, 2007 at 11:56 PM
Oh My God, by Michael Fronte, the former singer for Spearhead. Incredible song, it gave me chills the first few times I heard it. Several of his songs are brilliant.
Posted by: M.Corley | June 25, 2007 at 11:17 AM
John Prine's "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You into Heaven Anymore" is a classic ... "But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more / We're already overcrowded from your dirty little war/ Now Jesus don't like killin' no matter what the reason's for / and your flag decal won't get you into Heaven any more."
Posted by: j-fo | June 25, 2007 at 07:55 PM
I may make it an Independence Day tradition to play the complete discography of Rage Against the Machine.
Maybe worth checking out is "If a Song Could be President" off Over the Rhine's new CD. It's unreleased as of yet, but I do believe authorized MP3s of the song are floating around.
Posted by: bobstevens | June 25, 2007 at 11:05 PM
Taking a page from the Paige Patterson School of Pastoral Ministry and Marksmanship, I think "Ballad of the Green Berets" would be an excellent choice.
Posted by: sepherim | June 27, 2007 at 11:51 AM
I prefer Bruce Springsteen's 41 Shots (American Skin).
Our Dylan's With God on our side redone by Straylight Run.
The Stones, Blinded by Rainbows is a good one.
Live's Brothers Unaware and 10,000 years (peace is now) are excellent choices.
Posted by: Joe | June 28, 2007 at 04:16 PM
Pedro the Lion - Backwoods Nation
Bad Religion - American Jesus
Sage Francis - Slow Down Ghandi
Headphones - Natural Disaster
Bob Dylan - With God On Our Side
Randy Newman - Political Science
Dar Williams - Empire
And most of Derek Webb's Mockingbird album.
Posted by: Kevin | July 03, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Kevin,
What's interesting about Bad Religion is that the lead singer has a masters in theology or that could be the lead singer of Taking Back Sunday. I think it's Bad Religion but now I'm not sure.
Posted by: Joe | July 05, 2007 at 08:48 AM
Joe,
The lead singer of Bad Religion (Greg Graffin) has a masters degree in geology and a PhD in evolutionary paleontology. I'm not sure about Taking Back Sunday.
Posted by: Kevin | July 05, 2007 at 02:44 PM
Ah...I see how got that mixed up...they rhyme. my bad
Posted by: Joe | July 05, 2007 at 08:58 PM