That's Why I Love To Be American

A Brand New Patriotic Song by The Pete Jacobs Band

I was in high school during the Vietnam War in a small college town in Southern California. As with most of the kids my age, I hated the war. And I began to believe all the negative talk about America. My history teacher told us that America was an "imperialist state full of greed" and the like. I considered history to be a very boring subject, and I didn't put much effort into it (and my grades showed it). But that all changed when I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the city of East Berlin (back when it was a divided city) with my college choir. I remember crossing the border at "Checkpoint Charlie" and seeing the machine guns pointed down at as we crossed. As I got my guided tour around the city, seeing only the things that the government wanted us to see, I suddenly realized how precious our American freedom really is.

There are many songs that are considered patriotic. But to me, it is not simply about loving my country because it's the country I happen to live in. I believe that the United States of America is an exceptional country, unlike most any country that had ever come before her. You can find the three things that make America exceptional on every coin: "Liberty", "In God We Trust", and "E Pluribus Unim (which literally translated means "Out of Many, One". (I must give credit here to the author, Dennis Prager, refers to these three phrases as "The American Trinity" of values).

These three values sum up why I am so grateful to live in such a blessed country. It is my hope that this song will make a difference and remind people how blessed we are to live here.

-Pete Jacobs

I would like to thank my musician friends who contributed to the recording of this song:

Lead Vocal: Randy Crenshaw
Drums: Russ Miller
Pedal Steel: Jay Leech
Guitar: Hadley Hockensmith
BG Vocals: Christi Ebenhoch and Pete Jacobs
Choir Vocals: The Saddleback Valley Chorale
Bass & Keys Pete Jacobs
Cover Art: Kristy McTaggart
Video Editor: Blair Shasky