Essay #6, revision

Meredith Streppa
Adam Weinstein
English 101
10 December 2007

Lately there have been numerous songs and works of art that portray politics, war, and different situations going on throughout the United States. A major focus for artists these days is the war in Iraq, as well as the events of September, 11th. Songwriter’s lyrics portray their view on the subject. Many agree with the war, and many artists disagree with what is going on. Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” is a depiction of an American’s view of the events that happened on September 11th, the war, and the countries views on terrorists. Also, this song is a stern warning to those countries that inflicted pain on America.
As a whole, the persona is reacting to events of September 11th, interpreting what happened on that day, and what actions will be taken by the Americans. It also portrays the views of people in America who are pro war. The persona in this song is an everyday citizen of the United States. He is a citizen, who also supports the war because he says,
“Justice will be served/ And the battle will rage/This big dog will fight/When you rattle his cage/And you’ll be sorry that you messed with/The U.S. of a/cause we’ll put a boot in your ass/It’s the American way” (LyricsFreak 33-40).
The persona gets very defensive about the United States. That is how one would know that they are a citizen themselves. They say, “We’ll put a boot in your ass,” including themselves in that example. Towards the beginning of the song, the persona also mentions American girls and guys recognizing and saluting the American flag, also known as Old Glory (LyricsFreak 1, 4). This exemplifies that people in the United States as well as the persona appreciate their roots and know when to recognize things of importance. The persona is pro-war and also very patriotic. We know this because they say that we will fight when someone “shakes our cage” or, in a sense, bothers or harms our country. We will also fight back, and “put a boot in your ass”. The persona's purpose is to support their country, as well as her actions.

Purpose plays a big role in songs. If a song does not have a purpose, then people tend to not like the song. There are multiple purposes in “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue.” First of the purposes, is the persona trying to get people excited and pumped up for the war. He says things to get the people of the United States emotions stirring, and get them supporting the war such as, “Soon as we could see clearly/Through our big black eye/Man, we lit up your world/Like the fourth of July” (LyricsFreak 19-22). The persona’s goal is to encourage people to support the war on terrorism. They do this by using words and phrases that stir angry and patriotic feelings to get this excitement about the war started. Another purpose of this song being so political is to gain the strength of the American public for the war. The persona wants to get the United States excited and ready. They use a very “invincible” tone to explain our country, meaning, incapable of being defeated. They want to prove that we will win this fight, never give up, and the terrorists should have thought twice before attacking our homeland.

The next key element in a song is the audience. In “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue,” the audience is the terrorists that attacked our country. The persona is telling them that they better beware, because what they have done they can not take back, and soon enough, they will regret it. In the song, the speaker says,
“Man, it’s gonna be hell/When you hear mother freedom. Start ringing her bell/And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you/Brought to you courtesy of the red white and blue”(LyricsFreak 28-32).
In this quote, he uses the word you, aiming towards the Middle East. Toby is also talking to the people who support the war, and feel the same way as him or her. The person talking in the song says, “American girls, and American guys/We’ll always stand up and salute/We’ll always recognize/When we see old glory flying” (LyricsFreak 1-4). Here, the speaker is talking to the people of the United States saying that we will always stand and salute the people in the war, and the people who lost their lives when we see the flag flying.

The rhetorical triangle plays a key part in this song. The persona uses all three of the points that the triangle has to offer. He uses Pathos to evoke emotion in the audience. In the song it says, “Cause we’ll put a boot in your ass/It’s the American way” (LyricsFreak 39-40). This is a way to get Americans mad about what happened, and excited to go to war. It effects the audience’s emotions, which is why Pathos is involved in this song. Another point in the rhetorical triangle is ethos. This is when the speaker is trying to gain credibility. In this song, the persona says, “My daddy served in the army/Where he lost his right eye/But he flew a flag out in our yard/Until the day that he died” (LyricsFreak 8-11). The speaker is trying to gain credibility in the subject of war. Since his dad fought and lost an eye, people are more likely to believe this person, because he has experienced the effects of war first hand. The last point of the triangle is logos. This point is based on an argument or logic. It is also based on cause and effect. In this song, the speaker mentions that a “big dog will fight when you rattle his cage. For example, when someone rattles the United States’ cage, we are most likely going to fight back.

All in all, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” by Toby Keith is a portrayal of an American citizen’s reactions towards the war and September 11th. This song is one of many that describe people’s feelings and emotions aimed near terrorists, the Middle East, and the war on Iraq. “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” is an extreme example of a pro-war persona depicted angry towards the Middle East and searching for revenge. This song, in my opinion, is not very effective. It gets people “pumped” for the war, but only for those four or so minutes it is playing. After it is over, I do not think about the words all day, or even put any thought past that song. It is, however, a good song, and does make me proud to be an American as well as remind me how lucky that I am to live in a free country.

Works Cited
"Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue." LyricsFreak. 1 Nov 2007.