Hey Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist
And the eagle will fly - man, it's gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Brought to you Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue
That's him. If you hear the lyrics in the verse, he talks about a vet who lost his eye - that's actually his own father.
My daddy served in the army where he lost his right eye
But he flew a flag out in our yard until the day that he died
He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me
To grow up and live happy in the land of the free.
He was also criticized publicly by Natalie Maines when he released this tune, and he wasn't shy about making a few retaliatory comments - which I was glad to see. Given that his dad was the inspiration for the song, I was rather happy that he told that little punk to shove it. : ) (I would have, too.)
Okay, you got me to Google the song and take a look at all the lyrics and also to read "the Chick's" reaction to it.
Who can please everyone? The song does contain some pretty raw, powerful stuff and the tone might have seemed even a bit bizarre during normal times, but I think that kind of anger fits perfectly as a response to 9-11. We were/are pissed off, goddammit!! LOL. Toby's generous use of overt, in-your-face, specific political/military symbolism ("stand up and salute," "ol glory," "Uncle Sam," "eagle will fly," "Red, White, and Blue") fits the purpose of creating a powerful, immediate impact.
If Toby had been intending to write a more timeless, less immediately provocative patriotic song (e.g, "America the Beautiful", "This Land is Your Land"), I'm sure he would have avoided his use of all those really overt symbols in favor of more natural/neutral imagery and a more subdued tone. But I think he did a great job of doing what he was trying to do - write a hostile, kick-ass, patriotic lyric.
And, BTW, notice that even Woody Guthrie apparently just couldn't restrain himself from throwing in that little verse about the "private property" sign. We're all human. LOL. ;-)