‘God Bless the USA’ Singer Reflects on Americans’ Sacrifices on 9/11 Anniversary
By Movieguide® Contributor
Singer Lee Greenwood is remembering the sacrifices of Americans as we mark the 23rd anniversary of 9/11.
“The moments that go through my head on 9/11 — and they will, for as long as I live — [are] to remember how America, which I believe represents the freedom of the world, made so many sacrifices for other countries,” Greenwood told Fox News. “And every time I sing ‘God Bless the USA,’ all of this is what I think of — and I do this at sports events all around the country.”
The singer often performs his hit song, “God Bless the USA,” at sporting events around the country.
“Thank God for sports events. All sports events present America at its best,” he said, noting the military presence, respect for the flag and honoring of American heroes at so many sports events.
“If it wasn’t for sports events, I don’t know that people would see this all of the time — and they need to,” Greenwood said.
He also spoke about creating “God Bless the USA,” a song he said he “always felt the need to write.”
“I wanted to have something that would unite Americans from coast to coast and to instill pride back in the United States,” Greenwood explained. “The song represents my family, my community and those men and women who have paid the price for the freedoms we all love and enjoy.”
In a 2022 Facebook post commemorating 9/11, Greenwood wrote, “We can never forget the sacrifice of 2,977 innocent people, we can never forget that there are evil forces that want to destroy America and we can never forget what a powerful nation we are when the United States of America is truly united. May God Bless the USA on 9/11 and always.”
Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” has become a patriotic anthem and the singer has performed it countless times over the years. However, Greenwood said he still gets choked up when singing the lyrics.
“It still gets me,” he told The New York Post. “I absolutely still get emotional about it.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Greenwood’s hit song:
Almost 40 years after the release of “God Bless The U.S.A,” songwriter Lee Greenwood opened up about the inspiration behind his hit song.
At first, Greenwood had trouble getting a label to release his patriotic ballad.
“It took me almost three years after I got to Nashville as a touring artist, and there wasn’t any interest in releasing ‘God Bless the U.S.A’ as a single record,” Greenwood explained. “If you were pursuing a career, it was romantic love songs, ballads that really hit the public right in the heart. When I toured with so many different acts, I got inspired again to write the song that would eventually become America’s most recognized anthem.”
He continued:
When Universal made the call after they heard “U.S.A.” on that album to release it as a single, I was just surprised. I think that if that had not happened, no one would have ever heard the song, and it probably would have just been one of those things in my discography that I was proud of, but it was more than that. When it got on the radio, the audience heard it, it became the song for the National Guard of Tennessee, and then the military, and then with President Reagan and his ‘84 campaign, which I was part of, and then moved forward to Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf War – not in that order – and the (September 11) attack on America. Each time, more Americans found “God Bless the U.S.A” to be a song of spirit and unity. It didn’t happen overnight.
Greenwood said that he hopes the song will continue encourage and remind American’s of their heritage and the faith-filled history of America.
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