Now Compilation Album

(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 La. 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

Chorus

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

(Jeffrey Steele/Reed Nielsen)

There's a "For Sale" sign on a big old rusty tractor.
You can't miss it, it's the first thing that you see.
Just up the road, a pale-blue water tower,
With "I Love Jenny" painted in bright green.
Hey, that's my Uncle Bill, there by the courthouse.
He'll be lowerin' the flag when the sun goes down.
And this is my town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Hey!
Where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
My town.

There ain't much goin' on here since they closed the mill.
But that whistle still blows ev'ry day at noon.
A bunch of us still go down to the diner.
I wonder if that interstate's still comin' through.
Come Sunday morning service, at the Church of Christ,
Well there ain't an empty seat to be found.
And this is my town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
My town.

Well, I bought and painted up that rusty tractor.
You can't miss it, it's sittin' right there in our yard.
The County came and took that water tower,
And that's Jenny, with a baby, in the car.
Ah, we're off to Sunday service at the Church of Christ,
And if we want a seat, we better leave right now.
And maybe later, me an old T-roy will show you around,
Our town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)

Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)

Since the day they got married
He'd been praying for a little baby boy
Someone he could take fishing
Throw the football and be his pride and joy
He could already see him holding that trophy
Taking his team to state
But when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket
All those big dreams changed

And now, he's wrapped around her finger
She's the center of his whole world
And his heart belongs to that sweet, little, beautiful, wonderful, perfect
All American girl

Sixteen short years later
She was falling for the senior football star
Before you knew it he was dropping passes
Skipping practice just to spend more time with her
The coach said, hey son what's your problem
Tell me have you lost your mind
Daddy said you'll lose your free ride to college
Boy, you better tell her goodbye

But now, he's wrapped around her finger
She's the center of his whole world
And his heart belongs to that sweet, little, beautiful, wonderful, perfect
All American

And when they got married and decided to have one of their own
She said, be honest, tell me what you want
And he said, honey you outta know

A sweet, little, beautiful one just like you
I want a beautiful, wonderful, perfect All American

Now, he's wrapped around her finger
She's the center of his whole world
And his heart belongs to that sweet, little, beautiful, wonderful, perfect
All American girl

All American girl

Starin' at you takin' off your makeup
Wondering why you even put it on
I know you think you do but baby you don't need it
Wish that you could see what I see it when it's gone
I see a dust trail following an old red Nova
Baby blue eyes, your head on my shoulder

Wait, baby don't moved, right here it is
T-shirt hanging off Dogwood Bridge
That river was cold but we gave love a chance
Yeah, yeah for me
You don't look a day over Fast Cars and Freedom
That sunset river back first time feeling

Yeah, smile and shake your head as if you don't believe me
I'll just sit right here and let you take me back
I'm on that gravel road, look at me
On my way to pick you up you're standing on the front porch
Looking just like that remember that

I see a dust trail following an old red Nova

(Mac McAnally)

In the town where I was raised 
The clock ticks and the cattle graze 
Time passed with Amazing Grace
Back where I come from
Now you can lie on a riverbank
Paint your name on a water tank 
Or miscount all the beers you drank
Back where I come from 

Back where I come from 
Where I'll be when it's said and done
I'm proud as anyone 
Back where I come from 

We learned in Sunday school 
Who made the sun shine through 
I know who made the moonshine, too 
Back where I come from 
Blue eyes on a Saturday night
Tan legs in the broad day light
TV's, they were black and white
Back where I come from

Back where I come from 
Where I'll be when it's said and done
I'm proud as anyone 
Back where I come from 

Some say it's a backward place
Narrow minds on a narrow way 
I make it a point to say 
That that's where I come from

That's where I come from
Where I'll be when it's said and done 
I'm proud as anyone 
That's where I come from 
Back where I come from
I'm an old Tennessean
And I'm proud as anyone 
That's where I come from
That's where I come from
That's where I come from

[Bonus Track]

If you're reading this
My Mommas sittin there
Looks like I only got a one way ticket over here
Sure wish I
Could give you one more kiss
And war was just a game we played when we were kids

I'm laying down my gun
I'm hanging up boots
I'm up here with God and we're both watching over you

[Chorus]
So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
And know my soul
Is where my momma always prayed
That it would go
And if you're reading this
I'm already home

If you're reading this
Half way around the would
I won't be there
To see the birth of our little girl
I hope she looks like you
I hope she fight like me
Stand up for the innocent and weak

I'm laying down my gun
I'm hanging up boots
Tell dad I don't regret that I followed in his shoes

[Chorus]
So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
And know my soul
Is where my momma always prayed that it would go
And if you're reading this
I'm already home

If you're reading this
There's going to come a day
When you'll move on
And find some one else
And that's ok
Just remember this
I'm in a better place
Where soldiers live in peace
And angels sing amazing grace

[Chorus]
So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
And know my soul
Is where my Momma always prayed that it would go
And if you're reading this

(Phil Vassar/Craig Wiseman)

I was ten,
I was thin,
I was playing first base 
with a secondhand glove and dirt on my face
In nowhere, Virginia
Who'd ever figure that kid in the yard would go very far
It was 419 Lakewood , had no silverspoons
Just an old beat up upright that played out of tune
Now I'm singin' and living the life that I love
And when I count my blessings I thank God I was 
An American child

An American child
'Cause dreams can grow wild 
Born inside an American child

Seven pounds, three ounces, she's got my nose
And she's into my heart as deep as it goes
With a promise that's more than just someone's last name
Anyone's equal, in late August came
An American child

An American child
'Cause dreams can grow wild 
Born inside an American child

My grandfather would have been eighty today
But in '45 he fell down beside an American child

An American child
Oh, an American child
'Cause dreams can grow wild born inside an American child

Clear creeks and cool mountain mornin's.
Honest work out in the fields.
Cornbread in my momma's kitchen.
Daddy saying grace before the meal.
Family ties run deep in this land.
And I'm never very far from what I am.

I was born country and that's what I'll always be.
Like the rivers and the woodlands wild and free.
I got a hundred years of down home running through my blood.
I was born country and this country's what I love.

Moonlight and you hear beside me.
Crickets serenadin' in the yard.
What more could two people ask for.
Laying here in love beneath the stars.
Now this is where I wanna raise my kids.
Just the way my mom and daddy did.

I was born country and that's what I'll always be.
Like the rivers and the woodlands wild and free.
I got a hundred years of down home running through my blood.
I was born country and this country's what I love.

I was born country and that's what I'll always be.
Like the rivers and the woodlands wild and free.
I got a hundred years of down home running through my blood.
I was born country and this country's what I love.
I was born country

(Keith Stegall/Charlie Craig)

I work a forty hour week and I earn my keep
And I try to walk proud and tall
I keep my nose to the ground, I don't get behind
And I don't back up at all
Well my neck's a little red, my collar's blue
I sip a little coffee, and I drink a little booze

'Cause I'm an all American country boy
I'm my daddy's spittin' image and my mama's pride and joy
There ain't nothing down home that I really don't enjoy
'Cause I'm an all American country boy

I drive a pickup truck and I don't pass the buck
And I always speak my mind
I'm hooked on T.V., Rolaids, and B.C.'s
And I know how to have a good time
I'm a little bit rowdy and a little bit tame
Ain't no way I'm ever gonna change

'Cause I'm an all American country boy
I'm my daddy's spittin' image and my mama's pride and joy
There ain't nothing down home that I really don't enjoy
'Cause I'm an all American country boy

Well I must admit that I've mellowed a bit
Father Time can slow you down
I'm still doin' all I used to do
It just takes a little longer now

'Cause I'm an all American country boy
I'm my daddy's spittin' image and my mama's pride and joy
There ain't nothing down home that I really don't enjoy
'Cause I'm an all American country boy

I'm just a country boy

I wear a greasy ball cap
I like my shirt untucked
I spend saturdays working on my truck
I don't like to fight
But I ain't scared to bleed
Most don't mess with a guy like me
Guys like me drink to many beers on friday after work
Our best blue jeans have skoal rings
We wear our boots to church
So rough around the edges
It's hard to believe that girls like you
Love guys like me

Your daddy worked at the bank
Mine worked on cars
You went to college
I pulled graveyard
You must have had your pick
Of all the trust fund types
But you came back to me and only god knows why
Guys like me drink too many beers on friday after work
Our best blue jeans have skoal rings
We wear our boots to church
So rough around the edges
It's hard to believe that girls like you
Love guys like me

Now theres a lot of guys like me out there
In a lot of little towns
And tellin' all our buddies, we won't ever settle down
We say thats just the way we are and the way we'll always be
So God sends girls like you for guys like me
Thank God theres girls like you, for guys like me

You need hands, rough not soft
To come and warm you up up in that cold hayloft
Let me hold you little darling in my big strong arms
Can't get these kind of muscles anywhere but a farm

Hey I'm a country man a city boy can't do the things I can
I can grow my own groceries and salt cure a ham
Hey baby I'm a country man

I've got a jeep with camouflage seats
That way nobody sees us parked back up in these trees
Your little iPod loaded down with Hoobastank
Don't be a tape player hater girl we're groovin' to Hank

Hey I'm a country man a city boy can't do the things I can
I can hotwire your tractor and plow up your land
Hey baby I'm a country man

You like the ivy league hum-v tennis sweater type
But girl I'm here to tell you don't believe the high

Hey I'm a country man I can wrestle hogs and gators with my two bare hands
Girl you better move quick I'm in high demand
Hey baby I'm a country man

Hey I'm a country man hunting me a good ole'
Country girlfriend
Why don't you come and join me in my new deer stand
Hey baby I'm a country man
Hey baby I'm a country man

(written by Chely Wright)

I've got a bright red sticker on the back of my car
Says United States Marines
And yesterday a lady in a mini-van held up a middle finger at me
Does she think she knows what I stand for
Or the things that I believe
Just by looking at a sticker for the U.S. Marines
On the bumper of my SUV

See, my brother Chris, he's been in for more than 14 years now
Our dad was in the Navy during Vietnam
Did his duty then he got out
And my grandpa earned his purple heart
On the beach of Normandy
That's why I've got a sticker for the U.S. Marines
On the bumper of my SUV

But that doesn't mean that I want war
I'm not Republican or Democrat
But I've gone all around this crazy world
Just to try and better understand
Yes, I do have questions
I get to ask them because I'm free
That's why I've got a sticker for the U.S. Marines
On the bumper of my SUV

'Cause I've been to Hiroshima
And I've been to the DMZ
I've walked on the sand in Baghdad
Still don't have all of the answers I need
But I guess I wanna know where she's been
Before she judges and gestures to me
'Cause she don't like my sticker for the U.S. Marines
On the bumper of my SUV

So I hope that lady in her mini-van
Turns on her radio and hears this from me
As she picks up her kids from their private school
And drives home safely on our city streets
Or to the building where her church group meets
Yeah, that's why I've got a sticker for the U.S. Marines

I never thought that this is where I’d settle down
I thought I’d die an old man back in my hometown
They gave me this plot of land
Me and some other men
For a job well done
There’s a big white house, sits on a hill, just up the road
The man inside, he cried the day they brought me home
They folded up a flag
And told my mom and dad
‘We’re proud of your son’

And I’m proud to be on this peaceful piece of property
I’m on sacred ground, and I’m in the best of company
I’m thankful for those thankful for the things I’ve done
I can rest in peace, I’m one of the chosen ones
I made it to Arlington

I remember Daddy brought me here when I was eight
We searched all day to find out where my granddad lay
When we finally found that cross
He said ‘Son, this is what it costs
To keep us free’
Now here I am, a thousand stones away from him
He recognized me on the first day I came in
And it gave me a chill
When he clicked his heels
And saluted me

And I’m proud to be on this peaceful piece of property
I’m on sacred ground, and I’m in the best of company
I’m thankful for those thankful for the things I’ve done
I can rest in peace, I’m one of the chosen ones
I made it to Arlington

And every time I hear twenty-one guns
I know they brought another hero home to us

We’re thankful for those thankful for the things we’ve done
We can rest in peace, ‘cause we are the chosen ones
We made it to Arlington

Yeah, dust to dust
Don’t cry for us
We made it to Arlington

I knew a man called him Sandy Kane
Few folks even knew his name
But a hero was he
Left a boy, came back a man
Still many don't understand
About the reasons we are free.

I can't forget the look in his eyes
Or the tears he cries
As he said these words to me.

All gave some and some gave all
And some stood through
For the red, white and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all.

--- Instrumental ---

Now Sandy Kane is no longer here
But his words are oh so clear
As they echo through out our land
For all his friends who gave us all
Who stood the ground and took the fall
To help their fellow man.

Love your country and live with pride
And don't forget those who died
America can't you see.

All gave some and some gave all
And some stood through
For the red, white and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all.

And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties
And recall, some gave all.

Some gave all...

American girls, and american guys
We'll always stand up and salute
We'll always recognize
When we see old glory flyin'
There's a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night
When we lay down our head.

My daddy served in the Army
Where he lost his right eye
But he flew a flag out in our yard
'Til the day that he died
He wanted my mother, my brother,
My sister and me to grow up
And live happy in the land of the free

Now this nation that I love
Has fallen under attack
A sucker punch came flyin'
From somewhere in the back
As soon as we could see clearly
Through our big black eye
Man we lit up your world
Like the fourth of July.

And Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist
And the Eagle will fly, and it's gonna to be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell
And it'll feel like the whole wide world's 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 US of A
Cuz we'll put a boot in your ass
It's the American way.

And Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist
And the Eagle will fly, and it's gonna to be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell
And it'll feel like the whole wide world's raining down on you.
Brought to you courtesy of the red, white, and blue.

Oh, of the red, white, and blue
Oh, of my red, white, and blue

If tomorrow all my things were gone,
I'd worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
With just my children and my wife.

I'd thank my lucky stars,
To be livin' here today.
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
And they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
Next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
To the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
And New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
And its time we stand and say.

That I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
Next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
Next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!