
The best Veterans Day songs
Reflect on the meaning of the national holiday with this curated playlist of the best Veterans Day songs
Veterans Day is a holiday dedicated to honoring those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. But like 4th of July, Memorial Day and, to an extent, Labor Day, it’s also a time to reflect on what it means to be American. This list of the best Veterans Day songs touch on those themes of patriotism and sacrifice, reflecting the breadth of the American experience, past, present and future.
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Best Veterans Day songs

1. “Ragged Old Flag” by Johnny Cash
This spoken-word song, the title-track on Cash’s 47th album, is a heartfelt nod to the patriotism that persisted during the Watergate scandal.


2. “Pink Houses” by John Mellencamp
Mellencamp sings honestly about racial inequality in America, a patriotic gesture that asks America to live up to its promise of liberty and justice for all.


3. “America” by Neil Diamond
Diamond’s sweet crooning gets to the core of what America is at its best: a shiny refuge for the huddled masses that yearn to be free.


4. “America” by Simon & Garfunkel
As this song describes, there’s nothing more American than searching for the county’s soul on the open road.


5. “American Music” by Violent Femmes
If you like American music (baby), then you should bump this gentle acoustic ode to a quintessentially American dilemma: not having a date for prom.


6. “Smoke on the Water” by Red Foley
In 1944, this folk classic foretold the fall of the Axis powers at the hands of “the great destroyer / made of fire, flesh, and steel.” (That’s us.)


7. “Kids in America” by The Muffs
This angst-laden number was featured in the film Clueless, and is sure to resonate with the sulky, sneering kids of America for a long time yet.


8. “American Pie” by Don McLean
Despite many attempts at clarification, McLean refuses to explain what this song’s lyrics mean: You might say such explanation-seekers are driving their Chevys to the levy and finding it dry.


9. “The Star Spangled Banner” by Jimi Hendrix
No musician since has injected such raw iconoclasm into the National Anthem.

10. “The Fightin' Side of Me” by Merle Haggard
In 1969, this seething country song struck a chord with the nation’s good ol’ boys, providing a counterpoint to the idealism of the Summer of Love.

11. “American Girl” by Tom Petty
In America, the promise of possibility intoxicates most of us, notably here, one American girl described by Tom Petty.


12. “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus
Maybe Miley Cyrus didn’t write this song but then, what’s more American than paying someone else to do it for you? There’s no doubt, though, that she’s the one driving this timeless ditty about carefree teenage Americana.


13. “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen
In this song, Springsteen laments the poor treatment received by Vietnam War veterans. But his point was valid, and, if we want to be a good country, it’s a lesson we should never forget.


14. “’Merican” by Decendents
This punk track attempts to jibe the narrator’s patriotism with America’s conflicted history: As the song goes, “You’ve got to know the truth, before you say that you’ve got pride.”


15. “The Presidential Suite” by Say Anything
Part of being American is enjoying freedom of speech—that includes the liberty to loudly disapprove of its government, a right that Bemis exercises in this obscure but truly rocking lambasting of the then-president.


16. “Living in America” by James Brown
This track packs funk and pride into a slick, groovy jam about a vast and gorgeous country full of bad selves. Woo—get up now!


17. “Made in America” by Kanye West & Jay Z, ft. Frank Ocean
This inspirational ballad deals with the difficulty of coming of age in America and ways in which we can overcome that struggle.


18. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
If there is a streak of American life marked by pride, it’s found in the South, and no song describes such Dixie love with more aplomb.


19. “American” by Lana Del Rey
As this sweet ditty instructs, “be young, be dope, be proud—like an American.”


20. “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan
More than 50 years later, Dylan’s queries about freedom and justice are as relevant as ever.

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