My Country, Too

(883 words)
For this article, I have asked singer/songwriter Dan Bern to join us. He wrote the song for today, My Country, Too.

Louise: Hi, Dan. Thank you for agreeing to talk with us today. First, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Dan: Well, I’m from a small town in Iowa with about 3,000 people. Some of my very first songs were what we could call protest songs. I was inspired by other protest singers like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Billy Bragg and people like that.

Louise: Classic singers and activists, all of them! So, you followed in their footsteps, and you wrote this song, My Country, Too. Why did you write this song, Dan?

Dan: Hmm, I think I wrote the song out of frustration with people that I disagreed with politically trying to act like their opinions were the only ones that mattered.

Louise: So, you wanted to say that there are folks with different viewpoints whose voices need to be heard?

Dan: Yeah, that’s right. I think the main message for me is that there are a lot of ways for people to be in a country, and still belong. And feel like they belong.

Louise: I see. Sometimes we don’t agree with others, but that’s not a reason to feel excluded from a group or from society.
Dan, we have a lot of readers who are learning English. Do you have any advice for them?

Dan: If you are learning a new language, it can be nice to learn a few songs in that language. Or even make up some of your own. That can be fun and help you learn the language.

Louise: A good suggestion! Thanks, Dan.

So, let’s take a look at the lyrics to My Country, Too.The song starts by pointing out that the singer has different values from people who might be in a high income bracket.

I don’t drive a Mercedes Benz and
I have no desire to own one

Also, for him, it’s more important to watch nature than watch a famous Hollywood film.

I’d sooner watch a flower grow
Than the latest from Sylvester Stallone
I don’t have me a country club membership (which is usually very expensive)

Governments bomb people in other countries. The singer has never done that. He also hasn’t done things like write graffiti on a national monument.
I’ve never dropped a bomb or defaced the
Washington monument
But you won’t find a flag on my doorstep
On the Fourth of July
Too many criminals try to wrap themselves inside of it
It stands for too many lies
It is quite usual for many Americans to display the U.S. flag on July 4^th because that is the celebration of Independence Day, the day that the United States declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. However, the singer doesn’t choose to display the flag. He says that there are “criminals” who use it. Here, he’s suggesting that politicians or people in power will say that they are patriotic or wear a pin of the American flag, but they take actions that are not helpful to the country. Their actions might even put citizens at risk, for example during a war or by creating policies that hurt the people such as providing no health care system, no money for public education, discriminatory laws, and so on.

My country ‘tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty

My country ‘tis of thee is a well-known American patriotic song. As children, Americans often learn the song in school. The song uses the same melody as the British royal anthem “God Save the Queen.” It was written 1831, and it praises freedom.
If I say it enough times
Maybe I’ll remember what it means

Don’t try to tell me
For once just listen to me
The singer is asking the listener not to judge or to argue but simply to listen to what he has to say.

It’s my country, too

Thank you, Dan, for sharing your thoughts and your song with us today.