Patriot rocker revives call to 'take America back'
Steve Vaus re-records anthem that got him blacklisted in 1992

March 24, 2009 8:30 pm Eastern


Steve Vaus

Steve Vaus, whose patriotic anthem "We Must Take America Back" got him blacklisted by the recording industry 17 years ago, has re-recorded the song with updated lyrics for 2009 – and, this time, he believes, not even a radio station boycott can silence his haunting and inspirational track.

In 1992, Vaus signed a recording contract with RCA. The resulting CD was called "We Must Take America Back," and the title track instantly struck a chord with Americans starved for entertainment that spoke to them, touched their hearts and reinforced their core values.

"We must take America back," Vaus sang. "Put an end to the gangs and the drugs in the street and the fact that the bad guys most always go free. That is wrong. We need leaders who lead us, not stick us and bleed us and take all our money and send it abroad. We must take America back. We need prayer in schools and more things made in USA. It's the least we can do for the red, white and blue. We must take America back."

The song began climbing the charts. Many radio stations found it was the most requested song on their playlists once listeners heard it. Based on radio airplay, the song zoomed onto the Billboard 100 CHART – with a bullet, as they say. That is a national chart based on radio play.

Vaus' star seemed to be rising.

But, after a few complaints from some big-city radio stations about the conservative and patriotic nature of the song, the company decided, inexplicably and inconceivably, to pull the CD off the radio and out of stores – even with the song at number 56, still with a bullet, meaning it was moving up the charts faster than most other records.

"It took me a long time to get over having the rug pulled out from under me like that, but now, I think this song's time is finally here," said Vaus. "I can't believe it has been 17 years since I first recorded and released 'We Must Take America Back.' With updated lyrics, that speak to the issues on most Americans' minds across this great country, I believe it will be a rallying cry for everyone organizing tea parties, signing petitions and getting organized to preserve what's good about America. Thank goodness in this age of instant Internet downloads there's no record company or media consortium that can block it."

In the last several years, Vaus has enjoyed great success in the music industry, he just did it under another name. Recording as Buck Howdy he's had four best selling CDs of "family music," two of which brought Grammy nominations in 2007 and 2008. He toured extensively and appeared in concert with Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny Loggins and many other superstars.

However, his first release, "We Must Take America Back" had an immeasurable cultural impact. It inspired WND Editor Joseph Farah's bestselling book, "Taking America Back." The book begins with a tribute to Vaus, with Farah saying he heard the song playing in his head as he wrote about what Americans can do in their everyday lives to restore freedom, justice and morality in the country.

"I still get chills when I hear the original timeless version of the song," said Farah. "But Vaus' reworked rendition speaks to the hearts and souls of Americans who are genuinely suffering today – suffering because their country, and everything good about it, is being taken away from them. This is truly a song for our times."

Here are the updated lyrics to the song:

The American Dream has become a nightmare,
Signs of the times are on cardboard on corners in town,
Like a cancer that's silently spreading, there's an unspoken fear ... we're on our way down.

We must take America back, Main Street to Wall Street, cities and states
Washington D.C., before it's too late, there's not long
We need leaders who lead us, not stick us and bleed us,
Then ransom our future, and our children's – that's wrong
We must take America back, as liberty weeps, our forefather’s spin in their graves
Pray God will bless some way out of this mess, We must take America back.

Lord knows they'll try to silence our voices
They'll pretend to be patriots fighting for fairness for all
They're not even fit to hold office
What they believe doesn't fit, with freedom at all

We must take America back, Main Street to Wall Street, cities and states
Washington D.C., before it's too late, there’s not long
We need leaders who lead us, not stick us and bleed us,
Then ransom our future, and our children's – that's wrong
We must take America back, as liberty weeps, our forefather’s spin in their graves
Pray God will bless some way out of this mess, We must take America back.

BRIDGE

Fight for freedom, and the soul of the USA
Right here right now, it’s Independence Day

We must take America back, Main Street to Wall Street, cities and states
Washington D.C., before it's too late, there's not long
We need leaders who lead us, lift us and heed us
Who stand for what's right, and stand up to what's wrong
We must take America Back, now and forever, with God, in His rightful place
Then He will bless, and protect the U.S.
We must take America back


http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92748

"in concert with Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny Loggins and many other superstars. "

Superstars? Obviously this article has no credibility.

Anyway, I wonder what the RIAA says about this...what about all those poor employees who lost income when this song was pulled from the shelves? I wonder what downloads would have done in this circumstance.

BTW, the guy reminds me of Chuck Norris...don't mess w/ him just based on that.

(03-25-2009 08:21 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "in concert with Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny Loggins and many other superstars. "

Superstars? Obviously this article has no credibility.

I disagree my hotheaded friend....

Kenny Loggins has had such an impact on my friends and I that our rec league vball team is "Team Kenny Logginz" (note classy change of S to Z)

Our uniforms are baby blue shirts with the famous Farah Fawcett photo

(03-25-2009 08:21 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  "in concert with Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny Loggins and many other superstars. "

Superstars? Obviously this article has no credibility.

Anyway, I wonder what the RIAA says about this...what about all those poor employees who lost income when this song was pulled from the shelves? I wonder what downloads would have done in this circumstance.

BTW, the guy reminds me of Chuck Norris...don't mess w/ him just based on that.

You have to remember the '70's and '80's for Kenny Loggins .... I mean if all you can sing from his many songs is "Danger Zone from Top Gun", you have to recognize that he was large in his time.

Now Silly Ray Virus on the other hand, can take his Stinky Snaky Fart and go Break It.

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(03-25-2009 09:04 AM)Tripster Wrote:  You have to remember the '70's and '80's for Kenny Loggins .... I mean if all you can sing from his many songs is "Danger Zone from Top Gun", you have to recognize that he was large in his time.

.

Don't forget that dumb*** Footloose song.

Hell, he's had 5 top 10 hits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Loggins_discography

I stand corrected. Rec league volleyball is a-ok in my book. And Farah is always in style.

(03-25-2009 09:14 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  I stand corrected. Rec league volleyball is a-ok in my book. And Farah is always in style.

SHOOT YEAH (hee haw lingo there) .... that's a picture of "Gourmet Food"

But I did like Kate Jackson best though ... I fell in love with her when I first saw her in "The Rookies" (Danko's wife) - - I always wondered how he could ever leave home knowing that was perfectly exquisite female was there all alone.



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