What was life like for the millions of soldiers, who fought in the various fields of war?
The trench experience involved the terror of mud, slime and disease and the constant threat of shellfire. Heavy artillery and new weapons such as poison gas threatened death from afar, but hand to hand combat with clubs and knives killed many during the grisly business of trench raids.
Another 9/11 tribute song
Toby Keith’s “American Soldier,” tells the story of what it’s like to be committed to fighting for freedom. It’s one of the best patriotic songs of all time and it shows how the selfless sacrifice a soldier makes extends to their family too.
Toby Keith wrote “American Soldier” shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He said he wrote the song based on what he thought his father’s thoughts on the terrorist attacks would have been. Keith’s father was a veteran and a patriot.
Keith penned this song with Nashville songwriter Chuck Cannon. Their other collaborations include “How Do You Like Me Now!?”, which spent five weeks at #1 on the Country chart and was the biggest-selling Country song of 2000.
He wrote this song in just 20 minutes, a week after 9/11. His intention was to play it for troops on USO tours but not to be part of a commercial release. However, after playing it for Pentagon brass in Washington, the Marine Corps commandant said, according to Keith: “You have to release it. You can serve your country in other ways besides suiting up in combat.”
And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price.
I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice.
Oh, and I don’t want to die for you,
But if dying’s asked of me,
I’ll bear that cross with honor,
‘Cause freedom don’t come free.
The song aimed to support back those who have supported him
The song is about a soldier who is headed off to war. “It’s written for all the times that I get to meet the troops on these USO tours,” Keith explained to CNN’s Larry King. “Since ‘Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American),’ the P.O.W.s and the families and stuff that have come and brought me back my old CD covers and stuff that they had and shown how much support they had, and this is my support for the American fighting men and women.”
The song topped the country charts for four weeks. It was Keith’s second #1 hit with “America” in its title, following “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)” in 2002. The patriotic Oklahoma singer has since achieved two more, in 2009 with “American Ride” and “Made in America” in 2011.
The music video was directed by Michael Salomon and was released on December 14, 2003. It was filmed on location at Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards, California and features off-duty soldiers, reservists and their families.“American Soldier” was Number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles the weeks of February 1.2003 – March 13.2003.
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