I know, I know. It’s almost the Fourth of July and we are all supposed to be making (excuse me, “curating”) playlists of all the songs with U.S.A., America, God, stars and stripes in the title. But what if this year was the year we dug a little deeper? And found the songs that made us feel patriotic without being so damn literal about it?
This is that list. These are honestly some of the most fitting songs about what it’s like to love life in our country and to love the people who feel the same. To explore our highways and small towns and dirt roads and farms and big cities, to celebrate the everyday, to stand up for our freedom, and to be willing to die doing so. And to be proud, every day, to be American.
(But rest assured, we’ve included a few old Independence Day standbys just for good measure.)