Toby Keith's 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' lives on in MAGA country

While the crowd waited for former President Donald Trump to take the stage at a recent rally in South Carolina, "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" played three times.

The song was written in response to 9/11, but today, that's not all it signifies.

"It didn't have as much meaning to me, I mean, because that was right after the Twin Towers. But then now it's got more of a meaning to me because our country just sucks right now," said Tonya Helm, who pumped her fist while the song played. "Biden needs to go, and you know, what better song to do it to than to Toby Keith's 'Red, White and Blue'?"

Keith's death last week brought renewed attention to his music, but "Courtesy" had already found a new life in MAGA-adjacent politics. It's a mainstay at Trump rallies, and also played at Ron DeSantis events during his presidential campaign.

It's a well-known song, even among non-country fans, for a lyric about where America would kick its enemies: "We'll put a boot in your ass; it's the American way."

Arguably, "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" is a new political anthem, an in-your face cousin to Trump's walkout music, "God Bless the USA."

A "very specific" song

"Courtesy" was originally written for USO tours as the military response to 9/11 ramped up, according to Nadine Hubbs, a professor of women's studies and music at the University of Michigan and author of Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music.

"After 9/11, he had written and was singing it for these working class kids overseas, many of whom were about to go into harm's way," she said. "It is a very specific song directed to a specific audience at a specific moment."

Those troops urged Keith to record "Courtesy." And upon its 2002 release, it was immediately