美国国家公共电台 NPR 'God Bless The U.S.A.,' A Country Anthem With Enduring Political Power

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today for our series American Anthem¹...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.")

LEE GREENWOOD: (Singing) And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.

INSKEEP: "God Bless The U.S.A." by country singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood has been a go-to song at times of national strife², like the attacks on September 11 which we are remembering today. But reactions to this song have become partisan³. NPR's Don Gonyea went to meet its creator.

GREENWOOD: (Playing piano).

DON GONYEA, BYLINE⁴: Lee Greenwood sits at the grand piano in his living room outside Nashville. He's noodling at the keys and battling a summer cold and playing one of his favorite artists, Elton John.

GREENWOOD: (Playing piano, singing) It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside.

GONYEA: Greenwood, who is now 75 and still touring, had a whole career before he ever wrote "God Bless The U.S.A." He's been in the business since he was 16 and playfully laments⁵ some early what-if moments, like how he just missed joining the Rascals⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOOD LOVIN'")

THE RASCALS: (Singing) One, two, three. Good loving.

GONYEA: You know, these guys.

GREENWOOD: So I missed that one.

GONYEA: But he worked and he worked, mostly in Las Vegas and Reno, playing gigs, making money, building his reputation in casinos and lounges. He recalls working in Sparks, Nev., in the late '70s at the Nugget, playing in a revue called "Naughty But Nice."

GREENWOOD: The Nugget in Sparks was a great place for me. I did a number called "Short People." (Singing) Short people got no reason and...

GONYEA: It's a Randy Newman song.

GREENWOOD: Yeah, Randy Newman. And I'm featured, but this is a nude⁷ show. This is a topless show.

GONYEA: Greenwood is full of these stories. Eventually, he decided⁸ to give country music a try, leaving behind a life as a very successful bandleader.

BILL IVEY: Lee didn't come to Nashville to build a career. He came with a career.

GONYEA: Bill Ivey is a former head of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

IVEY: So right out of the gate, he was a serious guy with a lot of experience in LA and Las Vegas.

GREENWOOD: (Playing piano) Let me just play a little bit for you. It goes like this.

GONYEA: Greenwood signed with a major Nashville label and, before long, made it onto the Billboard⁹ charts. This song, "I.O.U.", earned him a Grammy.

GREENWOOD: (Playing piano, singing) You believe that I've changed your life forever. And you're never going to find...

GONYEA: Soon after would come the song that would cement his fame.

GREENWOOD: (Playing piano, singing) I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.

And the melody just sort of flowed.

GONYEA: It was "God Bless The U.S.A."

GREENWOOD: First of all, I wanted to put God first because I'm a conservative Christian¹⁰. And I wanted to make sure that God was honored in the song. So the title had already framed - "God Bless The U.S.A." And I didn't know how I'd wanted to say it, but it was like (playing piano) - kind of thing. And I didn't know exactly what chords but - (playing piano, singing) God bless the U.S.A.

Or (playing piano, singing) God bless the U.S.A.

There could've been a lot of ways to do that. Simple was better.

GONYEA: Greenwood says he was inspired by the military veterans he'd seen at his concerts, so he got to thinking about writing an anthem.

GREENWOOD: The Sousa marches were in the back of my head, and I did a lot of those as drum major for my high school band. And I wanted to have some pomp and circumstance.

GONYEA: And "God Bless The U.S.A." is absolutely an anthem, says Bill Ivey, who also served as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.

IVEY: He opens with gratitude¹¹. What a great gift it is. If we had nothing else, freedom would be precious.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.")

GREENWOOD: (Singing) And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.

IVEY: And then he goes into the chorus, which is pride and talks about sacrifice and invokes¹² the military and how hard it was to create and maintain his freedom that he values so much.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.")

GREENWOOD: (Singing) 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land...

GONYEA: The song did not take off right away. It peaked at No. 7 on the country charts, then faded. But it had more lives to come. Its first high-profile use in a political setting came at the Republican convention in 1984.

GREENWOOD: The reason "God Bless The U.S.A." got associated with President Reagan, they made a film of his life.

GONYEA: The song was part of the soundtrack. During the 1991 Gulf¹³ War, it became a staple¹⁴ at parades and homecomings. Then came 9/11.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GREENWOOD: (Singing) And I won't forget the men who died who...

GONYEA: Greenwood sang it twice at Yankee Stadium. Once for a memorial service heard here, and again at Game 4 of the 2001 World Series. As its stature¹⁵ grew, cover versions followed.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.")

BEYONCE: (Singing) There ain't no doubt I love this land.

GONYEA: That one's from Beyonce, and Greenwood himself recorded an alternate Canadian version of it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOD BLESS YOU CANADA")

GREENWOOD: (Singing) And I'm proud to be in Canada...

GONYEA: Greenwood says when he wrote "God Bless The U.S.A.," the goal was to unite people.

GREENWOOD: I meant that, you know, the nation would kind of kumbaya. You know, let's all, like, gather arms and just be - just love each other.

GONYEA: In many cases, it has certainly done that. But over the years, it has also become more and more partisan. You're far more likely to hear it at GOP events. Take this Trump¹⁶ rally in Elkhart, Ind., where a version of the song is blasting from loudspeakers mounted on a pickup¹⁷ truck out in the street.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) 'Cause the flag still stands for freedom...

GONYEA: People had been lined up all day waiting to get inside. Among them, college student Ben Hirschman.

Tell me what your shirt says.

BEN HIRSCHMAN: My shirt says proud to be an American, which I am.

GONYEA: That's from the song.

HIRSCHMAN: Oh, I love the song. It's my favorite song that I heard when I was younger. Right after 9/11 - it has a lot more meaning now.

GONYEA: But down the block, another gathering¹⁸. This one anti-Trump. David Kolhoff is a retired¹⁹ attorney.

DAVID KOLHOFF: I'm not a fan of that song. Even though I'm proud to be an American, I was kind of raised, you know, you should kind of be quiet. You know, you should do things quietly.

GONYEA: Asked about such partisan reactions, Greenwood says he wishes it weren't so. And that he's proud to have sung it for five presidents, Republican and Democrat²⁰. He says he is honored that some do consider his song an anthem.

GREENWOOD: When you say the word anthem, it takes it to another category. After - what? - 30-some years that I've sang this on stage, people do get up as if it is an anthem for their life, for their country - pretty cool.

GONYEA: Lee Greenwood on his song "God Bless The U.S.A."

Don Gonyea, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.")

GREENWOOD: (Singing) And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget...

1 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

2 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

3 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

6 rascals   

流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人

参考例句：

• "Oh, but I like rascals. "唔，不过我喜欢流氓。
• "They're all second-raters, black sheep, rascals. "他们都是二流人物，是流氓，是恶棍。

7 nude   

adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品

参考例句：

• It's a painting of the Duchess of Alba in the nude.这是一幅阿尔巴公爵夫人的裸体肖像画。
• She doesn't like nude swimming.她不喜欢裸泳。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

12 invokes   

v.援引( invoke的第三人称单数 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• The Roundtable statement invokes the principles of the free market system. 企业界圆桌会议的声明援用了自由市场制度的原则。 来自辞典例句
• When no more storage is available, the system invokes a garbage collector. 当没有可用的存贮时，系统就调用无用单元收集程序。 来自辞典例句

13 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

14 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

15 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

18 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

19 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

20 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。