“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” is a 2002 country anthem by Toby Keith that became a definitive, though polarizing, musical response to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The song was born from Keith’s grief over the death of his father, Hubert “H.K.” Covel Jr., in a car accident in March 2001, followed six months later by the 9/11 attacks.  Keith wrote the lyrics in roughly 20 minutes on the back of a fantasy football sheet.

Originally, Keith only intended to play the song live for troops. However, James L. Jones, then-Commandant of the Marine Corps, told him it was his “duty” to record it to boost national morale.