There’s hardly anything I like about the Left. Their economic views are naive in the extreme, their political views are statist, their attitude is elitist and arrogant, their books are boring, and, to be blunt — if politically incorrect — I don’t find their women very attractive. In short, they suck. But there’s one area where they’ve always had it all over the Right: their music.

Back in the 1960s I knew more than a few conservatives and libertarians — and even some students of Objectivism (the term followers of the novelist Ayn Rand used to describe themselves) — who attended civil rights demonstrations and antiwar rallies just for the music. And what music! You might get to hear superstars like Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Peter, Paul and Mary, or, in the later part of the decade, rock groups like Jefferson Airplane or Crosby, Stills and Nash — and all for free!

Some of the protest songs of the era became megahits on the mainstream charts. The most memorable of these were songs by Bob Dylan, although what charted were usually other artists’ covers of Dylan’s songs — Dylan’s nasal, almost whiny voice did not hold much appeal for mass audiences.

In contrast, the music of the Right — well, there wasn’t any that I can recall. (Yes, I remember Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler’s “Ballad of the Green Berets”; as I said, there wasn’t any music that I can recall!). If you went to a conservative rally, if there was any music at all it was usually something like “God Bless America” (not, I hasten to add, that there’s anything wrong with that). The songs performed by any folk musicians or rock bands that appeared consisted mostly of parodies of the Left’s most popular protest songs.

The Tea Party is changing that. Some well-known musicians, mostly from the country-and-western genre, have performed at Tea Party rallies. And, the Tea Party is even starting to produce some music and musicians of their own. Probably the most well-known musician to come out of the Tea Party movement to date is Lloyd Marcus, here singing his “Tea Party Anthem”:

Marcus (who is also a regular contributor to American Thinker) has been a headliner at hundreds of Tea Party rallies around the country and has become very popular in the movement. His “Anthem” is, without a doubt, stirring and uplifting. But the movement still didn’t have its Bob Dylan.

Until this month.

At the end of June a new music video was uploaded to YouTube. It features Krista Branch, an American Idol contestant from a couple seasons back, performing a song called “I Am America”:

I caught this song on The O’Reilly Factor the other night during his “Pinheads and Patriots” segment. As you may know, I’m not O’Reilly’s biggest fan and I especially don’t like his P&P segment, but even O’Reilly sometimes gets it right.

When I heard “I Am America” (which was written by Krista’s husband, Rev. Michael Branch), my first thought was: this is it! This is the song that could become the anthem, not just of the Tea Party movement, but of every American who is alarmed at the disastrous turn this country has taken. “I Am America” is definitely Dylanesque — it combines the righteous anger of “Masters of War” with the defiant assurance of ultimate victory of “The Times They Are A-Changin'”. It is the kind of song that not only expresses the anger felt by millions of Americans, but which has the power to inspire and mobilize them, too.

Just check out these lyrics (and play the video) and you’ll see I’m not exaggerating:

Pay no attention to the people in the street
Crying out for accountability
Make a joke of what we believe
Say we don’t matter ’cause you disagree
Pretend you’re kings, sit on your throne
Look down your nose at the peasants below
I’ve got some news, we’re taking names
We’re waiting now for the judgment day

I am America, one voice, united we stand
I am America, one hope to heal our land
There is still work that must be done
I will not rest until we’ve won
I am America

You preach your tolerance, but lecture me
Is there no end to your own hypocrisy?
Your god is power, you have no shame
Your only interest is political gain
You hide your eyes and refuse to listen
You play your games and abuse the system
You stuff your pockets while Rome is burning
I’ve got a feeling that the tide is turning

I am America, one voice, united we stand
I am America, one hope to heal our land
I will not give up on this fight
I will not fade into the light
I am America

[Bridge]
You stuff your pockets while Rome is burning
I’ve got a feeling that the tide is turning

I am America, one voice, united we stand
I am America, one hope to heal our land
I am America, one voice, united we stand
I am America, one hope to heal our land
I will not give up on this fight
I will not fade into the night
I am America

So far, this song is only available as a 99-cent download from iTunes, or as a free video on YouTube. Branch, a worship leader at her church who describes herself on her website as “a devoted wife, mother [of three], patriot and a woman of deep faith”, is coming out with her first album-length CD next month and is scheduled to appear on Fox and Friends July 21.

Except for O’Reilly and Glenn Beck, the media have pretty much ignored “I Am America”, no doubt hoping it will go away. I predict that it won’t. While I’m not predicting that it will soar to the top of one or more of the Billboard charts — after all, the Left is not very tolerant and would be far less likely to buy a conservative song than conservatives were to buy left-wing songs back in the ’60s — I believe that through word-of-mouth, email chains, and embeddings on blogs like this one, the song will go viral and become a megahit, even if not “officially”.

And I predict we’ll be hearing a lot more from Krista Branch.