 |  | | From Chad Bowar, your About Music Editor | | | For Americans, Independence Day is this week. Our music experts have fourth of July patriotic playlist selections for your barbeque, party, fireworks display or other get together. | | American folk songs aren't all about protesting something; there are also plenty of great tunes that pay homage to America. Included on this list are particularly songs that make reference to American Independence Day. Some of them seem to only refer to the 4th of July in passing, but the themes the songs depict embrace the spirit of American patriotism just as much. | | | | Patriotic oldies music. Seems easy enough, right? Yet patriotic music behaves much like patriotism itself – it proliferates in times of crisis yet slacks off in times of plenty. This may be why the 20th century’s best songs about America were written during the Great Depression and after the Seventies. (The 60s simply polarized everything, which doesn’t necessarily result in good music.) Still, there are enough examples in rock’s Golden Age to suggest that the feeling never goes away entirely. | | | | When it comes to patriotic songs, country music has a lot of them. Here's a selection of some of the best, including tracks by Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Johnny Cash and of course, Lee Greenwood. | | | | If you live in the United States, you'll know that one of the highlights of summer is celebrating Independence Day on July 4th. When the weather is fine, many people celebrate the event outside with a barbecue, picnic, fireworks, etc. -- preferably with patriotic music playing in the background. To create the perfect sonic atmosphere, we've compiled a list of albums that contain music and songs just for such an occasion. | | | | | | Trending Now on About.com | | |
