This Is My Country

Album: This Is My Country (1968)
Charted: 25
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, lead singer Curtis Mayfield addresses African Americans who feel disenfranchised with their country. Mayfield points out that his ancestors endured great hardship to help build the country, and the best way to honor that is to be proud of the United States.
  • In the mid-'60s, Curtis Mayfield wrote the seminal Impressions songs "People Get Ready" and "Keep On Pushing," which were a call to have faith and stick out the hard times. While not overtly so, they related to the civil rights movement and gave encouragement to those who fought for equality.

    By the time he wrote "This Is My Country," the civil rights movement had grown but also fractured, with some groups encouraging violence. In the song, Mayfield asks that we honor the struggle of those who came before, and not give up on America. It's a vision instilled in him from church, and one that was practiced by Martin Luther King, Jr., who was a big influence on Mayfield.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Joe Jackson

Joe JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.