A Playlist for America
We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to pay honor and tribute to the United States of America!!!!
I’ve spent the last few essays giving you a sneak peek into the setlist I created for my latest novel, Justice: A love story, part one. I’d planned on finishing that today but decided that I’d rather take the time to pay tribute to America. It’s our 250th birthday, after all, and I thought it would be great to share a Spotify playlist with you that focuses on our country, with it’s ups and downs and all-arounds. If you’d like to take a listen, check it out here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5vWrvFsxi0IalBk7omAhcw?si=li2jQ5UeSU-WLJD6nPyQSA
1. Scarlet Tide, Alison Krauss
This song comes from the Cold Mountain soundtrack, and I thought it was important to start here, with the sacrifices made by many people. War is always a part of any civilization’s story. I’m personally anti-war, yet I’m not so naive as to believe we could have a nation without it. First, the filthy rebels had to fight against England. There would be wars between us and France, the Indians, and later, we would fight one another on the question of whether or not we would allow slavery, while addressing the bigger question, was the Union, as imperfect as it is, worth saving? According to Google, An estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers died during the American Civil War. Was the Union worth it? Today, I’d say yes. This song, however, captures the heart of the women in each war. In each conflict, it is the women and children who are left behind, and their pain and sacrifice are important to the history of our nation.
We’ll rise above this scarlet tide, that trickles down through the mountain, and separates the widow from the bride.
2. America, Neil Diamond
Far. We've been traveling far. Without a home. But not without a star. Free. Only want to be free. We huddle close. Hang on to a dream. On the boats and on the planes. They're coming to America. Never looking back again. They're coming to America.
I grew up with this song. My very Democrat mother and Independent father loved this country back then. We wore red, white, and blue. We said the Pledge of Allegiance. We LOVED this song. Later, I’d go through a phase where I thought I was better than this nation. Better than those who loved it. I could see how corrupt it was, how all these promises were broken. I felt like a hypocrite. This would also be the same phase when I thought I knew better than God as well. Alas, coincidence? Regardless, like most 50+ y.o. women, I recently became interested in my genealogy. When you start to ask why your ancestors came here, you realize why America is so special. In my case, all my great-grandparents were born in either Poland or Slovakia. They came to America in the second wave of immigration, through Ellis Island, searching for work. None were better than peasants in Europe, all were under foreign invasion, and looking for something better.
They welded our cities together (Chicago and NY) for $2/day. They lived in hovels. Clean, but hovels none-the-less. I once had a woman tell me that none of us white people had a right to be here in America. I asked her, where should I go then? To Slovakia? To Kovel, which was in Poland when my great-grandparents left, but is now in Ukraine? Or Krakow, where my other great-grandfather left the slums? Immigration is how the colonies began, it’s how we built our cities, and then our manufacturing and agriculture base. The fourth wave is upon us and as long as there is work, people will come. I imagine this next wave will be a healthcare fueled one—Gen X didn’t have enough kids to care for us when we’re old and need help wiping our asses. Not glorious work, but neither was building skyscrapers without any safety laws, nor picking strawberries and grapes or working in meat-packing plants.
You see, this is why it hurts a bit to be American—people need to come here for a chance, but the work sucks, yet then there’s the promise: The American Dream. It’s still lives, so long as we believe in it.
Free. Only want to be free. We huddle close. Hang on to a dream
3. America the Beautiful
Reports from Europeans visiting American for the World Cup are going viral on TikTok right now. Especially reports on how big and beautiful the nation is. When I was young, we’d drive to Florida every year in my dad’s green Pinto, listening to the American Graffiti soundtrack on repeat (it was the only cassette my dad had). I recall thinking that southern Illinois was an endless, boring hellscape; cornfields spread out in all directions, a dumpy town every now and then where we’d gas up and stretch our legs. Then we’d hit the Smoky Mountains, and everything changed. The beauty of this nation always amazed me.
Eventually, my dad would become wealthy enough to fly the beaches, and this part of my childhood ended. We flew over the land and I missed it. Now, I travel between CA and Chicago twice a year and we always drive, taking a different route each time. I’m not sure most people understand this luxury—we can move freely between states, across a nation, basically visiting several countries along the way. There is nothing like camping across America and visiting the National Parks.
4. God Bless the USA, Lee Greenwood
I’ll be honest, I hate the fact this is now considered an evil song of the evil emperor by many. I love this song. Every time I hear it, the last person to come to mind is the Evil Orange Man. Instead, I remember marching into my gymnastics meets, this song playing. Proud, chin up, ready to win. My club’s colors were red, white, and blue. This song often makes me recall the one time I won all-around at sectionals, only twelve years old. I never won AA again, but damn, it felt good to stand at the top of the podium and wave to the crowds. And yes, this was the song playing that day as we walked in.
And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
I get it, I might sound like a silly girl, but that silly girl was so lucky to have grown up in the USA, I’ll tell you that. Thanks great-grandfathers and mothers for coming here.
5. R.O.C.K In the USA, John Mellencamp
Yeah, I think rock was born in America. Same with the blues, hip-hop, folk, country and rap. It’s always changing, always evolving, but music is at the heart of the American experience. From Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan to John Cougar Mellencamp (and all his various names) to BB King, James Brown and 50 Cent, this industry is a big part of the American dream. Celebrate it!!!
6. American Woman and
7. American Girl
These two go together. Let’s be honest, the American Woman has mystique. It’s not only the French who understand the concept of Femme Fatale. From the golden age of Hollywood to Michelle Obama, American women have style, grace, power, and great fashion sense. Yeah, we can break your hearts as well. Sorry, not sorry.
8. Sister Golden Hair, America
I had to have something by the band named after our great country, and again, this song captures the essence of female American beauty. It also captures a bit of our strange mating rituals—I love you, but maybe not too much, but I can’t commit, but I can’t stop thinking about you, let’s have sex. The American Love story in a nutshell.
9. Dancing in the Streets
This song has been done by everyone, but I chose the Dead’s version at Cornell 5.8.77 because that’s the BEST Dead show ever. Why this song? Well, my husband suggested it because it names all our great cities. Yes, the American city kicks ass. Of course, Chicago is the best 😉
10. You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC
And here we come to what I consider the ultimate American song. Why? It is the essence of the American experience. We can be foolish in America. We can be bombastic. We are allowed to be outrageous, loud, and uncouth. We love sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. We also love God, family, and country. We are a country where you’ll witness a drag queen Easter egg hunt one year on the White House lawn and a UFC bonanza another. And yes, I understand that half of us hate what the other half loves, but guess what, you don’t get to define what Bread and Circuses get to be labeled American, because it ALL is. Panem is alive and well, isn’t it? May the odds be ever in your favor (IYKYK). Our literature, music, entertainment, and lifestyle is one big Smorgasbord and the First Amendment is the power behind it. Besides, you gotta love this song because, again, it’s about that very elusive, very sexy, quite powerful American woman...
She was the best damn woman that I’d ever seen. She had the sightless eyes, telling me no lies. Knocking me out with those American thighs.
HAPPY 250TH BIRTHDAY AMERICA! HERE’S TO ANOTHER 250 MORE.