America’s Most Famous Patriotic Songs

The United States has a reputation for its staunch patriotism, a belief that is perpetrated by the constant display of American flags on almost everything. According to a survey conducted by YouGov on World Population Review, the United States was ranked as the most patriotic country by its residents who believe their country is the best in the world (19 countries were surveyed). Per the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of a patriot is "one who loves and supports his or her country." By this very definition, America's most famous patriotic songs illustrate how much its citizens adore their nation.

There is no shame in being proud of your country and where you come from, a conviction many musicians and composers wholeheartedly agree with. Songs praising the country can be found in many forms – anthems, marches, and hit songs – and they typically all have a similar theme. Freedom, liberty, opportunity, its physical beauty, the sacrifice of our military, and the struggle to keep a united nation to ensure the American dream endures.

24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of America's most famous patriotic songs. We reviewed sources such as the Library of Congress website and various lists of songs and lyrics to create our list. Listed here are some of the great American songwriters and composers of all time, contemporary artists, and folk singers like Woody Guthrie, whose hit "This Land is Your Land" reminded listeners that America belonged to all of us, not just the wealthy. (The American flag features prominently in many songs and has undergone many changes. Check out the history of every former U.S. flag.)

Here are America's most famous patriotic songs:

• Composer: Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight
• Year written: 1985

"Living in America" is James Brown's soulful paean to the American spirit, reaching No.10 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop song chart in February of 1986. The song got an extra boost when it was played during the film "Rocky 4."

• Composer: James Sanderson
• Year written: 1812

"Hail to the Chief" is derived from a song that has roots in an old Scottish anthem performed in a play in New York, where the song found wide appeal. It was then used at an event in Boston in remembrance of George Washington in 1815. Fourteen years later, Andrew Jackson became the first living U.S. president to be honored by the pomp and circumstance.

• Composer: Simon & Garfunkel
• Year written: 1968

Simon & Garfunkel's "America" was a song written as prose and was a mainstay on the airwaves following its 1968 release. The song tapped into a yearning among Americans for something to believe in as their country was being torn apart by the Vietnam War.

• Composer: Francis Van Boskerck
• Year written: 1927

This Coast Guard anthem was formed in 1915 when Van Boskerck, a Coast Guard captain, wrote the music and lyrics for the song, whose title is Latin for "Always Ready." The song was introduced in the presence of an elderly John Philip Sousa, America's greatest composer of marches, who helped with the arrangement of the anthem.

• Composer: Joseph Hopkinson
• Year written: 1798

Based on music composed by German immigrant Philip Phile, with words written in 1789 by Philadelphia judge Joseph Hopkinson, "Hail Columbia" was titled "Washington's March," or "President's March" to honor George Washington, who was traveling through New Jersey on his way to New York City for his presidential inauguration.

Eventually, Hopkinson changed the song's title to "Hail Columbia" at the request of singer-actor Gilbert Fox in 1798. Fox performed the song at a concert in Philadelphia, and it was a sensation. Among those who eventually heard the song was President John Adams. The song was considered the unofficial national anthem up until the 1890s.

• Composer: Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins
• Year written: 1981

In "Song of the Patriot," Cash left no doubt where he stood: "I'm a flag-waving patriotic nephew of my Uncle Sam, a rough-riding fighting Yankee man. I love mom and apple pie and the freedoms that we all enjoy, across this beautiful land."

• Composer: Aaron Copland
• Year written: 1942

Among the most widely known pieces of American classical music, "Fanfare for the Common Man" was written by Copland to rally Americans against fascism during World War II. The song has been used to open Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones concerts and has been covered by rockers Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.

• Composer: Edmund Louis "Snitz" Gruber
• Year written: 1908

The U.S. Army made this its official anthem in 1956 but the song's origins date back to 1908, when Brigadier General Edmund Louis Gruber wrote "The Caissons Go Rolling Along." Gruber, a descendant of Franz Gruber, who composed "Silent Night," based the song on his experience while he was stationed in the Philippines.

• Composer: Unknown
• Year written: N/A

The origin of the music to the "Marines' Hymn" is a march in a comic opera by composer Jacques Offenbach but the lyrics don't feature anything comical which recount Marine victories during the Mexican-American War and the war against pirates of the Barbary States. The lyrics were first printed in a Marine Corp Magazine in 1919 and although it's not known for certain who wrote the lyrics, some verses have been credited to Colonel Henry C. Davis.

• Composer: Robert Crawford
• Year written: 1947

Brigadier General H. "Hap" Arnold started a song-writing contest to create an anthem for the U.S. Army Air Corps to help establish an identity for the predecessor of the U.S. Air Force. Among those who submitted entries were composers Meredith Willson, whose credits would include the musical smash "The Music Man," and the incomparable Irving Berlin. In the end, the winning entry came from Canadian-born amateur pilot Robert Crawford.

• Composer: Charles A. Zimmerman and Alfred Hart Miles
• Year written: 1906

In 1906, Navy midshipman Alfred Hart Miles approached Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmermann, the director of the Naval Academy Band, about composing a rousing football marching song for the class of 1907. Zimmerman composed the music and Miles wrote the words, and "Anchors Aweigh" was born, becoming the anthem of the U.S. Navy.

• Composer: Neil Diamond
• Year written: 1980

"(They're Coming To) America" is about the immigrant experience in the United States and was a big hit when it was released as a single in 1981. It was played at the Statue of Liberty's centennial celebration in 1986 and continues to be played in bars, pubs, and parties.

• Composer: Daniel Adams Butterfield and Oliver Willcox Norton
• Year written: 1862

The familiar, mournful strains of the solitary bugler were first played during a burial ceremony for a slain Civil War soldier in 1862. Both the Union and Confederate armies performed the song at funerals, and it has become a tradition to play it at military funerals. The song, whose composer is believed to be Civil War Major General Daniel Adams Butterfield, with assistance from brigade bugler, Oliver Willcox Norton, is also used to indicate lights out for those serving in the military.

• Composer: George Warren
• Year written: 1876

The Christian hymn "God Of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand" was composed to observe the centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The song has been sung by, among others, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

• Composer: George M. Cohan
• Year written: 1917

Cohan wanted to write a song to rally the country as it entered World War I in 1917, leading him to pen, "Over There," a flag-waving hit that would sell a mind-boggling two million copies. It was boosted by a robust campaign by publisher Leo Feist to promote the song to benefit the war effort and a portion of Feist's proceeds, and all of Cohan's, went to war charities and veterans groups.

• Composer: Patrick Gilmore
• Year written: 1863

The song was written by noted band leader and Irish immigrant Patrick Gilmore. He and his band enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, where they served as musicians and stretcher-bearers for the wounded. While he was posted in New Orleans he wrote the song that he said was adapted from an African American spiritual song.

Some listeners thought it was an anti-war song and it was picked up by northern Democrats who were opposed to the war. The song became popular among Union and Confederate soldiers alike. Eventually, the song came to be seen as a homecoming salute for servicemen and women returning from overseas.

• Composer: Lee Greenwood
• Year written: 1983

Country singer Lee Greenwood, who composed and performed the song, said he wrote the song because he was inspired by servicemen and women attending his concerts. The song was played at the 1984 Republican National Convention during a film about the life of President Ronald Reagan. "God Bless the U.S.A." was popular during the Gulf War in 1991 and returned to popularity in 2001 after the terrorist acts on September 11, and if you're ever on a military base, nationwide, or overseas, you'll most likely hear this popular song played at some point.

• Composer: Al Jacobs and Don Raye
• Year written: 1940

This song by Al Jacobs and Don Raye was written in 1940 at the end of the Great Depression and just before the United States entered World War II. Bandleader Fred Waring popularized the song in the 1940s, and among those who have performed it are the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Tennessee Ernie Ford.

• Composer: Thomas a' Becket or David T. Shaw
• Year written: circa 1843

The copyright for this song was issued to David T. Shaw in 1843 but musician Thomas a' Becket claims he rewrote the words to this patriotic song before original songwriter Shaw filed the copyright. A' Becket was accused of plagiarizing the words of a British song, "Britannia, The Pride of the Ocean," that were written by British journalist Stephen Joseph Meany, originally as a poem by the same name. A' Becket claimed that "Britannia" was plagiarized from his song. The lyrics of both songs are somewhat similar.

The song title is derived from a name that used to mean the United States of America – Columbus – and the song was popular during the Civil War and became part of the U.S. Marine Corps Band's repertoire.

• Composer: George M. Cohan
• Year written: 1906

Originally written for Cohan's 1906 musical "George Washington, Jr.," this was the first song from a stage musical to sell over a million copies of sheet music. The title comes from an encounter Cohan had with a Civil War veteran who had fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. Cohan noticed the former soldier holding a folded, worn-out American flag, which prompted the veteran to say to Cohan, "She's a grand old rag."

Cohan liked the line so much that he titled the song "You're a Grand Old Rag," but some people objected to using the word rag for the flag, so he changed the title to the one we know today. The song was popular during both world wars and has appeared in many movies, most famously in the 1942 film "Yankee Doodle Dandy," a biopic about Cohan starring James Cagney.

• Composer: George Frederick Root
• Year written: 1862

Composed by one of the prominent songwriters of his day, "Battle Cry of Freedom" was composed in 1862 to rally Union troops and boost enlistment during the Civil War. The song was also used in 1864 to help the re-election campaign of President Abraham Lincoln. Root's song can be heard on segments of Ken Burns' "Civil War" television series. It's interesting to know that there are Union and Confederate versions of the song.

• Composer: John Philip Sousa
• Year written: 1896

Sousa, who grew up in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War, was returning to the United States from a European vacation with his wife in 1896 when onboard the ship, he said he heard a band playing the same rhythmic beat in his head. When he got home, he penned the music for what became "The Stars and Stripes Forever." It was an immediate hit and became the unofficial anthem of the Spanish-American War. Sousa believed the song was the greatest march ever written.

• Composer: Woody Guthrie
• Year written: 1940

One of the best-known folk songs in America was written by Woody Guthrie as a retort to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" after the Great Depression. Guthrie originally titled the song "God Blessed America for Me" because he believed Berlin's song did not reflect the true America, where he believed land and wealth were not distributed equally. Guthrie's song is more than a travelogue of America's beauty; it tells the listener that the nation's physical attributes belong to all of us.

• Composer: George M. Cohan
• Year written: 1904

The words and music to "Yankee Doodle Boy" (also known as "I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy") were written by song and dance vaudevillian George M. Cohan and were heard during the first act of Cohan's first full-length musical "Little Johnny Jones" in 1904. Many shows and movies have included "Yankee Doodle Boy," among them the Academy Award-winning 1942 film "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and the 1969 Broadway show "George M!" that starred Joel Grey in the title role.

• Composer: Anonymous
• Year written: 1755

"Yankee Doodle" was written before the American Revolution and the phrase "Yankee Doodle" was a derisive British term for colonial soldiers. One story about the song's origins says that British army surgeon Dr. Richard Schackburg wrote the song during the French and Indian Wars and that the lyrics poked fun at the colonials who fought with the British troops.

• Composer: Samuel Francis Smith
• Year written: 1831

In 1831, Smith wrote the words for this tune as a peaceful ode to America and was considered as a possible national anthem. He wrote the song's lyrics after noted organist and composer Lowell Mason asked him to translate music that was in German. One melody in particular — the same melody in the British song "God Save the King" — impressed him, and he wrote lyrics to it. Following the American Revolution, the song was adapted for use during the inauguration of President George Washington in 1789.

• Composer: Julia Ward Howe
• Year written: 1861

Written during the Civil War, the song was adapted from the song, "John Brown's Body" about the Union Army abolitionist of the same name. Howe, also an abolitionist, heard the song sung by Union troops and was inspired to write words that she thought were appropriate to the music as a poem.

Published in the "Atlantic Monthly" magazine in February 1862, "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was one of Winston Churchill's favorite songs. It was sung by Andy Williams at the funeral of Robert Kennedy and was performed at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and at St Paul's Cathedral in London to honor those killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

• Composer: Katharine Lee Bates
• Year written: 1893

Wellesley College English literature professor Bates was on a lecture trip to Colorado in 1893 when during a hike up Pikes Peak she was so taken by the vast expanse before her that she wrote "America the Beautiful." The song is beloved for its unabashed love of the American landscape and was considered by Congress as the national anthem.

Her poem first appeared in the weekly newspaper "The Congregationalist" in 1895, with the words originally sung to any song the lyrics would fit. Eventually, the melody with which it was paired was written in 1882 by church organist Samuel Augustus Ward from Newark, New Jersey. Among the most famous versions of the song is the one performed by Ray Charles.

• Composer: Irving Berlin
• Year written: 1938

Singer Kate Smith asked Irving Berlin to write her a patriotic song she could sing on her radio show to be broadcast from the World's Fair in New York on November 10, 1938, to honor America's war veterans. Berlin remembered he had written a song 20 years earlier for a comedy, reworked the lyrics, and fashioned the song we know today. The song, often called our second national anthem, was played frequently after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Smith's version is still played during every New York Yankees home game, with the lyrics posted on the scoreboard.

• Composer: Francis Scott Key
• Year written: 1814

Attorney Key had been trying to negotiate the release of a friend held by British troops during the War of 1812. He was detained aboard a boat in Baltimore's harbor by the British Navy, which was shelling Fort McHenry on the night of September 13, 1814. Key watched the bombardment from the boat and at dawn was amazed to find the American flag still flying above the fort.

Inspired by what he saw, he penned the words to what would become our national anthem. reworking the lyrics to the tune of "Anacreon in Heaven," a song associated with a gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. For the next century, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was considered the country's unofficial national anthem but gained momentum in 1917, when it was played during the World Series to honor soldiers fighting in World War I. The song touched a chord, and by the following season, it was being played at every game.