When a country music song is a great song, it doesn’t matter when it’s released. These four songs all came out 22 years ago, in 2003, but are so good, we want to keep them on repeat today.
Videos by American Songwriter
“American Soldier”
Toby Keith wrote “American Soldier” with Chuck Cannon. On Keith’s Shock’n Y’all album, the song is a tribute to the military personnel Keith met over the years, doing his many USO Tours.
“American Soldier” says, “I’m an American soldier, an 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.”
“This is a tremendous honor to the troops,” Keith says of the song. “We get so desensitized seeing them on the news every night that we forget that under the helmets is a mind, under the camouflage is a heart. They put it all on the line for us, man. The song was a tribute, but it also said to my critics, ‘Now get up and say something about this ignorant redneck now.’”
“Remember When” by Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson shows his soft side in “Remember When“. Written solely by Jackson, the song, a reflection of his marriage to his wife, Denise. “Remember When” is on his Greatest Hits Volume II project.
“Remember When” says, “Remember when / We vowed the vows and walked the walk / Gave our hearts, made the start, and it was hard / We lived and learned, life threw curves / There was joy, and there was hurt / Remember when.“
“Denise and I met as kids, and all that’s true,” Jackson says. “And most of that is just reflections of our life, and some of it looking ahead.”
“I’m Gonna Take That Mountain” by Reba McEntire
Anyone who needs an uplifting, encouraging, feel-good anthem need not look any further than Reba McEntire’s “I’m Gonna Take That Mountain“. Written by Jerry Salley and Melissa Peirce, the song is on McEntire’s Room To Breathe record.
“I’m Gonna Take That Mountain” says, “I’m gonna take that mountain / Ain’t nothing gonna slow me down / There ain’t no way around it / Gonna leave it level with the ground / I ain’t just gonna cross it, climb it, fight it / I’m gonna take that mountain.”
“Tough Little Boys”
Gary Allan shows off his tender side in “Tough Little Boys”. The song, on Allan’s See If I Care album, is written by Don Sampson and Harley Allen. Allan stayed at the top of the country music charts for two weeks with “Tough Little Boys”.
“Tough Little Boys” says, “Well, I never once / Backed down from a punch / Well, I’d take it square on the chin / Well I found out fast / A bully’s just that / You’ve got to stand up to him / So I didn’t cry when I got a black eye / As bad as it hurt, I just grinned / But when tough little boys grow up to be Dads / They turn into big babies again.”
Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage
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