Toby Keith is back with new music, just in time for the 4th of July. The song, “Happy Birthday, America,” was inspired by something he witnessed last year, which included another one of his patriotic tunes.

“There were 5000 boats tied up out there and they started playing — all the boats had radios synced to the same radio station, so you could hear the same thing all across the lake, ’cause it was synchronized with the fireworks,” Keith recalls on Fox & Friends. “‘Courtesy of Red, White and Blue’ came on and everybody was honking their horns and screaming and singing, and it was a big, unison thing. I was like, ‘Wow.’

“Fireworks were going off,” he continues. “It was in the middle of last summer and this country felt like a dumpster fire about then. I was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty neat.’ I said, ‘Happy Birthday America, whatever’s left of you.’ I was running a few days later and I wrote that song.”

Keith’s motivation for writing “Happy Birthday, America,” was less about feeling patriotic, and more about worrying about what was wrong in the country, at least right now.

“I live in the heartland, and it just feels like everybody you talk to [has] the same worries. It feels like democracy is in trouble,” Keith reflects. “You hear people talk about Civil War; you hear people talk about separation of states. It just feels like the politicians aren’t getting the job done on either side, and it just feels like the democracy is in danger.”

Keith’s current single is “Old School,” from an upcoming album. He also is at radio with Brantley Gilbert and HARDY, on “The Worst Country Song of All Time.”

Because of some of the lyrics, Everything Nash is choosing to not include the video in this story. Listen to “Happy Birthday, America” here.

Read Top 10 Patriotic Songs in Country Music here.

Photo Credit: Richard McLaren