Ringing the Bells

Ringing the Bells
Every once in a great while, a song bursting with patriotism explodes onto the pop charts. Sometimes they are the product of a personal experience by the artist, but usually they are a response to something. Toby Keith’s “Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue” is certainly an example of the latter. Within the year 2001, after 9/11, he released this blasting hit, which snowballed into the highest selling country record of the year. The message of the song is well worth evaluating, because of the passion it inspires in so many when it is heard. How does Toby Keith spark this rise in us, and what is he doing with it? The subject is the medium through which he connects with his audience, and his purpose is to unite a country who has taken a “sucker punch,” and feels a forgotten patriotism inside.
The argument of the song is more of a promise to the culprit of the attacks, an assurance that there will be retribution. “It’s the American Way,” he proclaims, and it is certainly felt that you cannot mess with the U.S.A. Few could immediately comprehend what happened to our country on September 11th. It’s the American Way to be above worry of such an attack on our freedom. His argument is that of the constitution: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He drops nearly every patriotic word he can muster into the song, because they are his tools for establishing the tone. However, the audience is not Osama Bin Laden, or Saddam Hussein, or Iraq. His audience is the U.S.A., the protagonist in the ass-booting. He presents absolutely no argument to his audience; instead, he becomes their voice, giving a team-like feel. Those of foreign origin probably will not identify with this message, although they might recognize the spirit of it. His tone is certainly condescending to anyone outside of our country. He sings, “We’ll always stand up and salute, we’ll always recognize.” “Always” holds some acute implications. “Always” is not during the year after 9/11, sadly, and this pride and respect loses its edge, just as the record stopped selling. He came up short of the great Lee Greenwood, whose “God Bless the USA” remains one of the single most successful patriotic songs ever released. I’ve never been to a Toby Keith concert, but I’m sure this song is the grand finale, with a Skynyrd-sounding guitar ending. The audience cannot help but stand and applaud. Sure, the music is well-written, and it is a good song, but the feeling it inspires is its main quality. It accomplishes this purpose well while making a statement in defense of America.
Obviously, Toby Keith is the speaker. My infinite doubt in the notion that he wrote this song precludes me from analyzing what he felt at the time he wrote this song. However, his voice carries the message, and he is a true artist in the manner in which he conveys it. Certainly the songwriter was a patriot, with undying faith in his country. Did he present an argument to be debated by the audience? I don’t believe this was his purpose at all. His audience was meant to relate to the song, a unified group emerging from controversy. The reason the songwriter does not perform the song himself points to the strengths of Toby Keith. His deep Southern voice holds power, and convicts an audience, inspiring emotion. He uses this to his advantage, delivering a threat to those who threaten our country. His performance of the song, combined with the quality of the writing, produce a literally bullet-proof hit, by a successful artist who is still on the rise.
There are nine clear references to patriotic symbols and landmarks. After peppering them into the first three verses, he sounds to have quieted for the fourth verse. After a dramatic pause in the score, he comes in with: “We’ll put a boot in your ass, it’s the American Way.” The expletive is an attention-grabber, well used at the right time, and for some reason one of the most effective points of the song. It shows that tough, rugged, perhaps redneck side of America, as the genre is called “country music.” It has always been the most patriotic of the different styles of music, usually holding an old-school approach to current issues and events. So why are all the references to eagles and Uncle Sam and Mother Freedom necessary to get the point across? All of the patriotic imagery serves the sole purpose of stirring emotion in the audience. If you can stir up an audience, you can make them listen.
“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” is probably the most recent landmark ode to patriotism that we have today. It is a perfect example of how to get a message across; finding a common chord to strike among your audience. His audience was very well chosen for the song, as they were the subjects of it. I personally never heard any criticism of the song until it was well overplayed. As any pop gem, it was spun right through the top, but those feelings fade as quickly as some derived from the song. Perhaps its argument is the classic argument for America, the very values for which it was created. It has been presented in writing, in fighting, and through music and song. The speaker delivers his song well, and he sells it to his audience in a way few performers can. Maybe the biggest winner out of such a piece is the audience, who is confronted with a potential theme song, and chooses to support it and make it their own. A great songwriter makes the audience wish they had written it first, as well as other songwriters. I’m sure there are many such writers in Nashville who wish they had written this one. The points of the rhetorical triangle show why the song gained such popularity. A perfect combination of argument, audience, and speaker produced a song that almost any American can identify with. The purpose of it all is to inspire that oneness, that teamwork unity, that makes our great country such a truly great place.