{"id":46435,"date":"2017-09-08T00:52:57","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T00:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/08\/country-superstar-toby-keith-bus-songs-and-service\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:48:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:48:59","slug":"country-superstar-toby-keith-bus-songs-and-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/2017\/09\/08\/country-superstar-toby-keith-bus-songs-and-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Country superstar Toby Keith: on \u2018Bus Songs\u2019 and time with the troops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It may be close to impossible to write a playlist of military anthems \u00adwithout including some by country music \u00adsuperstar Toby Keith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years his hits like \u201cAmerican Soldier,\u201d \u201cCourtesy of the Red White and Blue (The Angry American)\u201d and \u201cMade in America\u201d have roused the patriotic fervor of troops and civilians alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a new album just released Sept. 8, the award-winning singer and songwriter once again includes melodies to appeal to the spirits of service members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bus Songs\u201d is comprised of tunes that initially were close to \u201ctoo bizarre,\u201d \u201ctoo dirty,\u201d or \u201ctoo politically incorrect,\u201d (think along the lines of his ode to the plastic party glass in \u201cRed Solo Cup\u201d) but were recorded after they became big side hits on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few of them Keith played for troops on his 11 years of USO tours, and only now is including them all on one album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out \u201cCall a Marine\u201d (where he croons \u201cCall a Marine\/ Instead of 911\/ They\u2019re built to improvise, adapt and overcome\u201d) and \u201cBallad of Balad\u201d (which he wrote after a trip to Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keith recently took a quick break on his \u201cInterstates & Tailgates\u201d tour to chat with Military Times about the album, his support for the troops, and about his dad\u2019s Army service, which came at a cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some highlights, edited for clarity and brevity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q. What are you most excited about for this new album?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, we have had over 20-some years of writing. We would sit on the bus and we would write songs, and once in a while somebody would say something crazy. We\u2019d grab a guitar and write that craziness down, and sometimes they\u2019d bloom into little songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of these can\u2019t be recorded. They\u2019re not commercial. They\u2019re not going to make it on the radio. They\u2019re too bizarre. They\u2019re too dirty. They\u2019re too politically incorrect. But a few of them that we could record busted out and became big songs, like \u201cRed Solo Cup,\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll Never Smoke Weed with Willie Again,\u201d and \u201cGet Out of My Car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fans started singing them at our shows, and I had four or five that I just sang on my USO tours. I wrote one in Balad called the \u201cBallad of Balad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wrote \u201cCall a Marine\u201d because I would end up occasionally just on some small bases that only had Marines on it. I wrote \u201cAmerican Soldier\u201d \u2014 and I \u00adconsider everybody soldiers in God\u2019s army \u2014 but everybody has their own branch. Most of my stuff was soldier-driven since my dad was a soldier \u2014 lost his eye over there. I thought, \u201cWhen I land on these Marine bases it would be nice to have a Marine song.\u201d So I wrote \u201cCall a Marine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve just had fun with them. Each song came out one at a time, and my manager said, \u201cHey, why don\u2019t you call all those up on one album called \u2018Bus Songs?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q. What has the response been to \u201cCall a Marine?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, it\u2019s great. It\u2019s a funny song. It\u2019s pretty much the \u201cBallad of Balad;\u201d it\u2019s funny. There\u2019s a song we did called \u201cRunnin\u2019 Block\u201d \u2014 you need a wingman, your best friend\u2019s got a date and he wants you to go on a blind date with him to run block on his girlfriend for him. \u201cCall a Marine\u201d is the same thing, but it\u2019s \u00adwritten for the Marines. It\u2019s basically about, if you\u2019re in a bar and you\u2019re in trouble, call a Marine. But also if you need somebody to run block for you, call a Marine \u2014 he\u2019ll throw himself on a grenade if he has to for you. It\u2019s just some of that fun, boy meets girl, fist fight, drinking, \u00adgung-ho stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n