During the emotionally distraught period after the attack of September 11, 2001, many Americans felt it necessary to speak out in an array of methods to lift the moral of their beloved country. Many in the music industry especially took this concept to heart and created multiple number one hits in the following year. One of these hits was “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” by the country star Toby Keith. He uses the emotional concept of pathos as well as strong, pro-war lyrics to make Americans want to stand up and fight for their country.
During this compelling song, it is clear Toby Keith is responding to terrorism and mainly the attack of the Twin Towers in New Your City. He sings, “Now the nation that I love has fallen under attack, a mighty sucker punch came flying in from somewhere in the back” ( LyricsFreak lines 15-18). Toby Keith is comparing the two planes crushing into the buildings to a fist crushing into an unsuspecting person. He also goes as far as discussing our counter-attack on Iraq by singing, “Man, we lit up your world like the 4th of July” (lines 20-21).We dropped approximately 240,000 cluster bombs during the first allied raiding, which must have been an awe-inspiring spectacle for any onlooker.
Toby Keith responds to the sneak attack by releasing this song to urge America to puff out its chest and muscle terrorism to the ground. He makes it clear that if you attack America, Uncle Sam will “Put your name at the top of his list” (line 23). This is exactly what America did with Operation Iraqi Freedom to stop the group responsible for all of the innocent deaths. The main method Toby Keith uses to appeal to his audience is that of pathos of the rhetoric triangle. This heavy emphasis shines through when he sings, “Theres a lot of men dead” and “a mighty sucker punch came flyin in” (lines 5 and 17). These lines both persuade listeners to his view that justice must be served by either making them sad of the men who passed away or making the terrorist attack seem like a sneaky cheap-shot.
It is very clear that the persona in this essay is a pro-war, patriotic American. It shows aggression, anger, and uses strong language when trying to persuade citizens of the United States of America to back up their country. In the chorus Toby Keith sings, “And the statue of liberty started shaking her fist, and the eagle will fly, man it’s gonna be hell” (lines 25-28). Toby Keith first gets the listener emotionally attached by mentioning one of the most popular symbols of America, the statue of liberty. Then he finishes the rhyme with a striking statement, saying its will be “hell” if you mess with the U.S. By listening to the opening verse of the song, we notice many details about the persona’s life and up-bringing. The persona’s father served in the army and “lost his right eye” (line 9). We also know that even though the persona’s father had this accident and may have been bitter, they still “flew a flag out in our yard until the day that he died” (line 10). This shows that the persona has been in the situation where actual war has affected his family but, nevertheless, still loves America. The persona is also completely supportive of the war in Iraq. Toby Keith sings, “Justice will be served, and the battle will rage, this big dog will fight when you rattle his cage” (lines 34-36). The big dog in this case is America and the deliberate attack of 9/11 was the rattling of its cage. And just like in the text, he supports the justice being served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Although it is never clear that the persona is Toby Keith, there is enough evidence in the lyrics to conclude that they share exactly the same views towards the war. There are also no pronouns in the song linking the persona to either sex, but the line “we’ll put a boot in your ass” asserts it to a male gender (line 39).
The audience of “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” mainly includes American citizens that lean more on the pro-war view. Since the purpose of the song is to rile people up to bolster their country, the audience must agree with the actions America has taken in response to the attack. The song is also focused toward middle-aged citizens because of the multiple occurrences of words such as “hell” and “ass.”
In conclusion, Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” is an emotionally strong, pro-war song made to get the American public to stand up and fight for their country. When further researching Toby Keith’s childhood and public statements, it became clear that this song was actually a direct representation of his views as well as early life. His father actually lost his eye in the war and he is very pro-war when it comes to his beloved country. His song was very successful with its message making it to the top of the country and overall airplay charts, as well as still being a country favorite today, still played throughout the U.S.A.
Works Cited
LyricsFreak. 1 Nov. 2007.
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