For the background of this song, see this: Church Choir Debuts ‘Make America Great Again’ Hymn. It is performed by the choir of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, the same congregation that held the patriotic service we blogged about. This venue is not the church but a 4th of July celebration at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
There are several songs with this title online, but this one is by Gary Moore, former music director of First Baptist. Read the lyrics.
Some thoughts and lines of discussion after the jump.
First of all, there is nothing wrong with a campaign slogan being put to music.
This is being described as a “hymn.” It is being sung by a church choir. Is that enough to make it a hymn? Note that there is no mention of God, Jesus, the Gospel, the Law, the Bible, or anything religious that I can detect, unless the patriotic devotion is counted as religious in a pagan or idolatrous way.
But maybe it’s unfair to classify it as a “hymn.” How does it measure up as a patriotic song, like “America the Beautiful” or “God Bless America” and the like?
Does the message that we need to make America great again imply that America is not great now, undercutting the patriotic theme? When Donald Trump says that we need to make America great again, he does so with anger, indignation, and critique of the status quo. Such feelings are missing in this song, which is relentlessly peppy and upbeat. Does that weaken the impact of the message?
Just as a song, does the music work with the lyrics? What strikes you about the lyrics? The music?
Any other thoughts or observations about the song “Make America Great Again”?
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