So you’re sick of all the election stuff, right? You can’t wait for this whole thing to be over so people will stop calling, ticketing, displaying signage, stuffing your mailbox, canvassing or spamming your social media. We’re right there with you. And while we can’t say we aren’t going to watch the election coverage (we totally will), we might just mute the television and fill the void with some of these awesome patriotic songs to get us properly pumped up, election-style. You know, just to get us over the last hump.
So whether you’re feeling patriotic, pissed— or somewhere in between— this list is for you.
Woody Guthrie – “This Land Is Your Land”
1956
Aretha Franklin – Respect
1967
“What you want/ (oo) Baby, I got/ (oo) What you need/ (oo) Do you know I got it?/ (oo) All I’m askin’/ (oo) Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)/ Hey baby (just a little bit)/ when you get home/ (just a little bit) mister/ (just a little bit)”
Simon & Garfunkel – America
1968
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Fortunate Son
1969
Jimi Hendrix – Star Spangled Banner
1969
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
1971
“Mother, mother, everybody thinks we’re wrong/Oh, but who are they to judge us/Simply ’cause our hair is long/Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way/To bring some understanding here today.”
Elvis Presley – An American Trilogy
1972
Miles Davis – Vote for Miles
1972
Ray Charles – America the Beautiful
1972
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
1974
Johnny Cash – Ragged Old Flag
1974
“She’s been burned, dishonored, denied an’ refused/And the government for which she stands/Has been scandalized throughout out the land/And she’s getting threadbare, and she’s wearin’ thin/But she’s in good shape, for the shape she’s in/Cause she’s been through the fire before/and I believe she can take a whole lot more.”
Husker Dü – In a Free Land
1982
John Mellencamp – Jack & Diane
1982
Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A.
(We know, we know… it doesn’t stop us from rocking’!)
1984
Lee Greenwood – God Bless the U.S.A.
1984
Prince – America
1985
The Replacements- Election Day
1987
Public Enemy – Fight The Power
1990
Garth Brooks – Friends in Low Places
1990
Violent Femmes – American Music
1991
“Do you like American music/We like American music/I like American music baby/Do you like American music/We like all kinds of music/But I like American music best.”
Leonard Cohen – Democracy
1992
Company Flow – Patriotism
1999
Toby Keith – Courtesy of The Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)
2002
“Hey Uncle Sam/Put your name at the top of his list/And the Statue of Liberty/Started shakin’ her fist/And the eagle will fly.
Man, it’s gonna be hell/When you hear Mother Freedom/Start ringin’ 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/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.”
Black Flag – Rise Above
2002
Dolly Parton – Color Me America
2003
John Ashcroft – Let the Eagle Soar (no, not really)
2003
Green Day – American Idiot
2004
Team America World Police – America, F*ck Yeah!
2004
Jay Z – American Dreamin’
2007
Dirty Projectors – Rise Above (cover of Black Flag’s classic)
2007
Young Jeezy and Nas – My President
2008
Macklemore – “American”
2009
Kanye & Jay Z, featuring Frank Ocean – Made in America
2011
“Built a republic, that still stands/I’m trying to lead a nation, to leave to my little man’s/Or my daughter, so I’m boiling this water/The scales was lopsided, I’m just restoring order…
Sweet king Martin, sweet queen Coretta/Sweet brother Malcolm, sweet queen Betty/Sweet Mother Mary, sweet father Joseph/Sweet Jesus, we made it in America/Sweet baby Jesus, oh sweet baby Jesus”
Lana Del Rey – National Anthem
2012
Lil Wayne – God Bless Amerika
2013
Buckcherry – Say F*ck it!
2014
The Presidents of the United States – Peaches
2014
Kendrick Lamar – Alright
2015
Got a favorite we didn’t include? Let us know in the comments below.
Check out more of Toledo City Paper’s Election Coverage here:
Trump Claims Vote Rigging— Is He Right?
Office Politics: Checking out the headquarters of Toledo’s political parties
Where to Watch: Election 2016 Watch Parties Happening in Toledo
Election Night Drinking Game
