The 3 Doors Down Single That Isn't...Really

It's been a long time since a song has been able to give me chills after repeated listens, but for the last few weeks I've had one song that has given me goosebumps after every single play. "Citizen Soldier" is an unofficial single released by 3 Doors Down after its successful use in a National Guard commercial/music video (said video is below). I usually scoff when bands release singles that are blatantly patriotic, since its usually just a big marketing ploy to score a hit on country rock stations. "Citizen Soldier" is way different in my mind. For one, there's nothing country about this track. This is the hardest song I've heard the band do since "Kryptonite". It's also much more subtle; there are no mentions of the war in the song or the video, it's more of a tribute to the individual, not the cause or the institution. And in that sense, 3 Doors Down REALLY succeeds.

The thing is, this song would simultaneously be a great and terrible single. It would be great for the band, since the press it would get would send the song skyrocketing up the charts. The problem is it would polarize too much that I almost think you'd get a reverse-Dixie Chicks situation. This time, the overly cynical anti-war folk would be blind to what the song REALLY says and radio stations in big liberal areas would try to limit its play. That's a real shame, since for the first time, I think we've written a song about soldiers that doesn't take a definite stand on any conflict. Kudos to 3 Doors Down for writing a brilliant track, a song 100 times better than "It's Not My Time", the single they currently have on the radio.



3 Doors Down - Citizen Soldier [iTunes]

3 Doors Down's self-titled album drops May 20th.

==TJ==