Good poem...

[NcDeuce]

A protest raged on a courthouse lawn, Round a makeshift stage they charged on, Fifteen hundred or more they say, Had come to burn a Flag that day.

A boy held up the folded Flag, Cursed it, and called it a dirty rag.

An OLD MAN pushed through the angry crowd, With a rusty shotgun shouldered proud.

His uniform jacket was old and tight, He had polished each button, shiny and bright.

He crossed that stage with a soldier's grace, Until he and the boy stood face to face.

"FREEDOM OF SPEECH," the OLD MAN said, "Is worth dying for, good men are dead, So you can stand on this courthouse lawn, And talk us down from dusk to dawn, But before any Flag gets burned today,¸
This OLD MAN IS GOING TO HAVE HIS SAY!

My father died on a foreign shore, In a war they said would end all war.

But Tommy and I wasn't even full grown, Before we fought in a war of our own.

And Tommy died on Iwo Jima's beach, In the shadow of a hill he couldn't quite reach, Where five good men raised this Flag so high,
That the WHOLE DAMN WORLD COULD SEE IT FLY.

I got this bum leg that I still drag, Fighting for this same old Flag.

Now there's but one shot in this old gun, So now it's time to decide which one, Which one of you will follow our lead, To stand and die for what you believe?

For as sure as there is a rising sun, You'll burn in Hell 'fore this Flag burns, son"

Now this riot never came to pass The crowd got quiet and that can of gas, Got set aside as they walked away To talk about what they had heard this day.

And the boy who had called it a "dirty rag," Handed the OLD SOLDIER the folded Flag.

So the battle of the Flag this day was won By a tired OLD SOLDIER with a rusty gun, Who for one last time, had to show to some, THIS FLAG MAY FADE, BUT THESE COLORS DON'T RUN.

[NcDeuce]

I'm just trying to be a father
Raise a daughter and a son
Be a lover to their mother
Everything to everyone
Up and at 'em, bright and early
I'm all business in my suit
Yea, I'm dressed up for success
From my head down to my boots

I dont do it for the money
There's bills that I can't pay
I don't do it for the glory
I just do it anyway
Providing for our future's my responsibility
Yea I'm real good under pressure
Being all that I can be

And I can't call in sick on mondays
when the weekends been too strong
I just work straight through the holidays
And sometimes all night long
You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door
Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey, I'm true down to the core

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 dont want to die for you
but if dyin's asked of me
i'll bear that cross with honor
cause freedom dont come free

I'm an amiercan soldier, and american
beside my brothers and my sisters i will proudly take a stand
when liberty's in jeopardy i will always do what's right
i'm out here on the front lines
sleep in peace tonight
american soldier i'm an american soldier

Yeah an american soldier, and american
beside my brothers and my sisters i will proudly take a stand
when liberty's in jeopardy i will always do what's right
i'm out here on the front lines
sleep in peace tonight
american soldier i'm an american
An american
an american soldier

Just heard this song going to work, Toby Keith kicks ass.

[HumanShield]

great poem and song! i love toby's music. But does anyone know if he was in the army or not?

[Salty Dog]

i don't like him, but he should fight the dixie chicks to the death......and win.

[Salty Dog]

awesome peom too!

[California Joe]

A Marine would never call it a gun, or let it get rusty. Just sayin'

And since when did country music jerkoffs get to tell me how to be patriotic?

Now bring me whiskey for my men and beer for my horses.

[front]

"A protest raged on a courthouse lawn"

I wonder why?

"Now bring me whiskey for my men and beer for my horses."

Don't forget to keep your powder dry California Joe. :-)

cheers

front

[Ratamacue]

HIJACK!

[Zach R.]

Umm, I just heard he was an "old soldier". This forum has been hijacked and it really f*cking pisses me off. I should go into a rant right now, but it's 11:30 at night and I don't want to wake anyone up. So piss off Joe and have a nice day. :fork: :bash: :cantbeli:

[NcDeuce]

great poem and song! i love toby's music. But does anyone know if he was in the army or not?

At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, he played defensive end for two years in the USFL, still managing to play with his band, where size was also an asset: When a fight broke out in the bar, he'd put down his guitar and jump offstage to restore order.

Toby Keith's father was in the military during the 1950s.


Toby Keith’s newest Album is entitled Unleashed, and features a song called “Courtesy of the red white and blue (The Angry American)”. This song sparked some controversy recently due to its angry tone and message. The song is about Keith’s version of the American response to the September 11th attacks on New York City and the United States. He explains why he wrote the song and the meaning behind the song in a live introduction paraphrased below (also included on the album as track 13).

“This was written a few days after the September 11th terrorist attacks. My father was a soldier in the Army in the ‘50s and always flew a flag to show his patriotism. I had just lost him in a car wreck six months before the attacks took place, so I wrote my feelings down. I never really intended for this to be a song. It was originally titled ‘Angry American.’”
Toby shares the view a lot of Americans have after the attacks, which sends a message of don’t mess with us or you’ll pay, and also that no matter how hard you try you can’t stop our love for this country and way of life. We are all proud Americans and nobody can tell us that we can’t wave our flag the way we want to. Toby shares with anyone who listens to his songs his true viewpoint on what he is singing about.

Some Americans and others who just work in America say that the song sends out an evil message and they don’t think the song should be supported by Americans. Canada Native Peter Jennings didn’t like the song, causing the TV Station ABC to tell Keith he cannot play this song on the July 4th special for which he was invited to play. Keith was talking to USA Today about the Peter Jennings ABC July 4th special."I find it interesting that he's not from the U.S.," Keith says of Jennings, who is Canadian. "I bet Dan Rather’d let me do it on his special."

Despite the controversy the song rose to number one and the Album has hit number one as well. Toby Keith is flying high with patriotism, and the American people are saying “we like it.”


http://images.usatoday.com/life/_photos/2002/2002-06-13-inside-toby-keith.jpg