Neat little "backstory" on one of my most favorite songs by Brooks & Dunn: "Only in America".
Brooks, along with writers Don Cook (Barbara Mandrell) and Ronnie Rogers (Alabama), wrote the patriotic “Only in America” just a few months before the terrorist attack on New York City in 2001. And with its opening line, Sun comin’ up over New York City, it became an unofficial anthem of healing for the city and the entire United States.
“Because of the patriotic nature of ‘Only in America’ we called the album Steers and Stripes. And then it starts goin’ up the charts. It was about somewhere in the Top 10 … when 9/11 happened. And our country woke up to a morning that we had never seen before, and our true patriotic heart started pounding … to see our country just rally in a way where people are just huggin’ policemen, and anyone in the service is all of a sudden is respected for what they were and their commitment to our country. And that song all of a sudden took on a life of its own.”
Read the rest:
https://americansongwriter.com/only-in-america-brooks-and-dunn-behind-the-song/
I've posted the lyrics to the song below, in the event you've never heard it.
Side note..... I'd love to see them in concert again. That night at the Illinois State Fair was one of the best concert experiences I've ever had.
They retired many years ago. But now, there is hope.........
Brooks & Dunn set to tour for the first time in a decade
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/15/entertainment/brooks-dunn-tour-trnd/index.html
YEAH!
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
Only in America
Brooks & Dunn
Writers: Kix Brooks, Don Cook, Ronnie Rogers
Sun coming up over New York City
School bus driver in a traffic jam
Starin' at the faces in her rearview mirror
Looking at the promise of the Promised Land
One kid dreams of fame and fortune
One kid helps pay the rent
One could end up going to prison
One just might be president
Only in America
Dreaming in red, white and blue
Only in America
Where we dream as big as we want to
We all get a chance
Everybody gets to dance
Only in America
Sun going down on an L.A. freeway
Newlyweds in the back of a limousine
A welder's son and a banker's daughter
All they want is everything
She came out here to be an actress
He was the singer in a band
They just might go back to Oklahoma
And talk about the stars they could have been
Only in America
Where we dream in red, white and blue
Only in America
Where we dream as big as we want to
We all get a chance
Everybody gets to dance
Only in America
Yeah only in America
Where we dream in red, white and blue
Yeah we dream as big as we want to