June 30, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, June 30.
We continue this morning with Patriotic Song Week here at the Daily Devotion, on the way to Independence Day and America’s 250th birthday. Most of this week’s songs are very old, over a century old. One, our National Anthem, has had over 200 birthdays. But today’s song is relatively new. Let’s take a look at “God Bless the U.S.A.”.
In 1984, Lee Greenwood was a middle-aged country singer with big dreams and a small career. Then he had the inspiration to write this song. It struck a chord in the heart of the nation. Ronald Reagan featured it in his second presidential campaign that year, and so did George H.W. Bush in 1988. Bush led the U.S. into a middle eastern war, the Gulf War, in 1990, and Greenwood’s song became an anthem. Ten years later, two planes flew into the Twin Towers, and the song resonated in America’s heart once again.
I met Lee Greenwood in 1984. He had come to Houston to sing his brand new song for President Reagan, at a political fundraiser. My college choir was asked to back him up. Honestly, at first I wasn’t too impressed with him - a little guy, with a scraggly beard, and a scratchy voice. I didn’t even know his song. But I know a good song when I hear it. And Lee Greenwood wrote a great song. 42 years later, proud Americans are still singing it.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
