American Ride (song)
| "American Ride" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"American Ride" is the title of a country music song written by Joe West and Dave Pahanish, and recorded by country music artist Toby Keith. It is the lead-off single and the title track for Keith's 13th studio album, released in October 2009. Released in July 2009 as the 47th single of his career, it debuted at #38 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It became his 19th Number One hit on the chart dated October 10, 2009.
Content
The song is an up-tempo song in which the narrator lists off various politically-oriented issues in the USA, such as illegal immigration ("Tidal Wave comin' 'cross the Mexican border"), political correctness ("Don't get busted singin' Christmas carols"), frivolous lawsuits ("Spill a cup of coffee, make a million dollars"), and the decreased importance of religion ("Plasma gettin' bigger, Jesus gettin' smaller"), but adds that he is still proud to live in America.[1]
Dave Pahanish and Joe West, the writers, had originally titled the song "American Life" when they submitted the demo to Keith.[2] Pahanish and West talked about "the funny, but irritating, things in life that really tick people off." Keith also had the song on his iPod a year before recording it.[2]
Reception
The song has been met with mixed reception. Dan Milliken of Country Universe.net gave a mixed review. In his review, he says that the intro sounded like a "hamster dance" version of Reba McEntire's "Strange", and that the rest of it sounded like a car commercial. He also said that he could not tell if the song's lyric was an attempt to be serious or satirical: "I can’t say I don’t find it all amusing on some strange level. There seems to have been a serious attempt to make social commentary here, and it was pretty hit-or-miss, or maybe more of one than the other, depending on your perspective."[3] Jed Gottlieb of The Boston Globe said that the song "lets him make fun of his status as a political punching bag while mocking both the right and left." [4] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described it positively, saying that it was not "jingoistic" and that it "casts a cynical eye[…]not celebrating down-home values but wondering where we're all headed[.]"[5]
Music video
The song's music video premiered on August 13, 2009 on CMT. Directed by Michael Salomon,[6] it is largely animated in a style inspired by JibJab online cartoons,[7] featuring Keith riding a motorcycle while passing scenes related to the song's lyrics. Other scenes include evangelist Pat Robertson riding on former United States President George W. Bush's back, President Barack Obama being hoisted in the air by bankers, and foreign dictators portrayed as pirates.[1] Keith told Country Weekly magazine that he was critizied by "blogger terrorists" the day that the video was released, adding, "But they really can't get a fire started in the direction they want to go because the video makes fun of everybody."[1]
Chart performance
"American Ride" debuted at #38 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the chart week of July 18, 2009 and reached #1 on the chart week of October 10, 2009 becoming his 19th Number One hit.
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Singles Chart[8] | 60 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 35 |
| Canadian Radio & Records Country Singles | 37 |
References
- ^ a b c Paxman, Bob (2009-10-12). "This American Ride: Toby Keith lays it on the line about his controversial new single, the good and bad of American life and his agony over the death of a friend". Country Weekly. 16 (35): 34–38.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Horner, Marianne (2009-11-09). "Story Behind the Song: Hit Filled with Ticked-Off Moments". Country Weekly. 16 (39): 22.
- ^ Dan Milliken (2009-07-10). "Toby Keith - "American Ride"". Country Universe. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ Gottlieb, Jed (2009-07-23). "Alpha Dog: Country singer Toby Keith exceeds expectations". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: American Ride". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
- ^ ""American Ride" video". CMT. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Roland, Tom (2009-10-09). "Toby Keith on quite the ride". Great American Country. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
- ^ Swedish Singles Chart - Sverigetopplistan