He counted on America to be passive… He counted wrong.

Our countdown of the I’m just sayin… Top 1,081 Songs of All Time continues today, but before we get to that I just wanted to relay the news that my colleagues in the news business have been sharing. US forces (and by US forces, I mean elite troops from Navy SEAL Team Six) killed Osama Bin Laden. No word yet on if Republicans are going to pressure President Obama to produce a death certificate. (HA! Get it? Because of all the stuff about the birth certificate… you know what… if I have to explain it then it kind of loses some of the humor). Anyway, in an announcement last night the President said, “Justice has been done”. That’s fine. A simple, yet firm statement. I get it. But for my money, I think you have to borrow a couple of lines from Ronald Reagan that were used in the Def Leppard song “Gods of War” (which we will see at some point on this list), “Today, have done what we had to do. He counted on America to be passive. He counted wrong”.  And then, obviously, you have to have the VP jump in and yell, "BOOM goes the dynamite!  That just happened!"  Ok, maybe for political reasons you don't want the VP part in there... but it sure would have been great to see.  I bet President Obama could have gotten former President George W. Bush to do it.  I'd like to interview the former president.  He seems like the kind of guy who, at least off the record, would be fun to talk to.  Even on the record I could see him after something like this pointing at the camera and saying something like "I told you we'd get that little sonofabitch.  Now we're going after that little prick who threw his shoe at me.  That's right, bubba.  I haven't forgotten about you.  You're next".  Ok, maybe he wouldn't say that... but I'd love it if he did.

Of course, this does not mean all the bad things in the world will end. There is a good chance the bad guys will strike back. Listen, I’m all for working things out in a non-violent way. But when a guy only wants to kill you, your friends and your family… well, talking don’t help much. Sometimes you’ve got to fight. And that’s why we at I’m just sayin… have always been fans of our military.

Now that we’ve taken care of the “real life” portion of this blog, let’s get to what you all came here to read!

1046 - “When It's Love” by Van Halen

“You look at every face in a crowd/ Some shine and some keep you guessin’/ Waiting for someone to come into focus/ Teach you your final love lesson”

Here we have a nice little love song from the second version of Van Halen… the Sammy Hagar years. I’m more of a fan of the David Lee Roth era of the group, but I still think some good songs came out of the Hagar years

1045 - “Flashdance… What a Feeling” by Irene Cara

“Well, I hear the music/ Close my eyes, feel the rhythm/ Wrap around, take a hold/ Of my heart”

I had to stop listening to this song while working out at the YMCA because they told me I couldn’t dump water on my head while running on the treadmill.

1044 - “King of the Mountain” by Bon Jovi

“Tonight we’ll lose control/ I been down and mistreated/ Now we’re standing undefeated”

An older song of theirs that often times gets overlooked.

1043 - “Ode to My Car” by Adam Sandler

I couldn’t find enough lyrics without bad words that I felt comfortable putting on here. Still, this is a great song for anyone who ever had an old ‘hand-me-down’ type first car. I hear this song and think about the car Jeremy had when we were in college.

1042 - “Austin” by Blake Shelton

“If your callin' 'bout the car I sold it/ If this is Tuesday night I'm bowlin'/ If you've got somethin’ to sell your wastin' your time, I'm not buyin'/ If it's anybody else wait for the tone you know what to do/ And P.S. if this is Austin I still love you”

I had forgotten that this is a Blake Shelton song until watching GAC a couple of months ago. This is a nice little slow paced love song. Even in Country music things can sometimes turn out well.

1041 - “Edge of a Broken Heart” by Bon Jovi

“I'm on the outside, looking inside/ You're with him, who's on the wrong side now/ Do you still think of me”

This Bon Jovi song was originally written while they were making the iconic album Slippery When Wet, but it didn’t make the final cut. It made the soundtrack of Disorderlies, but I didn’t hear it until I got their box set. It was probably a good idea not to put it on Slippery When Wet (I don’t think it would really fit on that album) but I’m glad I got to hear it.

1040 - “Allison Road” by Gin Blossoms

“I've lost my mind on what I'd find/ All of the pressure that I left behind/ On Allison Road”

I wasn’t really a fan of this group until I heard them open for Hootie and the Blowfish one year. After that, I was hooked.

1039 - “Sumter County Friday Night” by Lee Brice

“Jeep tires burn my driveway black/ Got my John Deere hat turned back./ Brother says there's gonna be a fight/ Sumter County Friday Night.”

A solid little Country song by a South Carolina boy about a county in South Carolina… it’d be hard to leave this one off the list.

1038 - “Lucky” by Britney Spears

“She's so lucky, she's a star/ But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking.../ If there's nothing missing in my life.../ Then why do these tears come at night?”

Ok… I admit it… there is a Britney Spears song that I like. And it’s this one. God help me, I don’t know why I like it… but I do. I guess after having to listen to Britney Spears so much with The Wife, something like this was inevitable.

1037 - “Lonely at the Top” by Bon Jovi

“Tell Frannie I'm sorry she didn't get to know her dad/ I'll bet he's sorry he didn't get to know you too/ Tell her there'll be people saying things that make her sad/ How her daddy felt alone, how he was hurtin' bad/ I guess that won't be too far from the truth”

This was originally released as an international B-Side for some single (not sure which). It’s a very simple, slow, sad song that they wrote after hearing the news that Kurt Cobain (yes, that Kurt Cobain) committed suicide.

1036 - “Have A Nice Day” by Bon Jovi

“When The world keeps trying, to drag me down/ Gotta raise my hands, gonna stand my ground./ I say, Have A Nice Day.”

The second in our back-to-back Bon Jovi songs on the list, I like the chorus of this one.

1035 - “Young Country” by Hank Williams, Jr.

“We are young country, we are the pride/ The sons and the daughters, of American life/ Our hair is not orange, we don't wear chains and spikes/ But we know how to have fun, come Saturday night.”

I like how this song takes a shot at other genres out there (even though I like a lot of music from those genres)/

1034 - “Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift

“You're in the car on the way to the movies/ And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off/ At 14 there's just so much you can't do/ And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots”

Ever since Mary Ruth was born, I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for songs like this.

1033 - “Carrie” by Europe
“Carrie, Carrie, things they change my friend/ Carrie, Carrie, maybe we'll meet again somewhere again”

There’s not a lot to this song… but I like hearing them sing the name ‘Carrie’.

1032 - “I'd Love To Knock The Hell Out of You” by Hank Williams, Jr.

“Oh I'd love to knock the hell out of you/ And if you keep messin’ around I'm going to/ So if you're looking for trouble/ Tell you what you do/ Come over and get the sh*t knocked out of you”

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! The above verse is how this song starts! How can you NOT like a song that starts like that?

1031 - “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” by Elton John

“What have I got to do to make you love me/ What have I got to do to make you care/ What do I do when lightning strikes me/ And I wake to find that you're not there?”

So simple… yet so great.

1030 - “Damned” by Bon Jovi

“I'm lying here beside you/ In someone else's bed/ Knowing what were doing's wrong/ But better left unsaid”

This song comes off of what I think might be one of their best albums (These Days). I think we’re going to see multiple songs from that album on this list.

1029 - “Life's A Dance” by John Michael Montomery

“When I was fourteen I was falling fast/ For a blue eyed girl in my homeroom class/ Trying to find the courage to ask her out/ Was like trying to get oil from a waterspout”

A nice little Country song from my past. I think it came out when I was in middle or high school… Pretty good lyrics.

1028 - “Bang a Drum” by Jon Bon Jovi

“I went to see the preacher/ To teach me how to pray/ He looked at me and smiled/ Then the preacher turned away/ He said if you want to tell him something/ You ain't gotta fold your hands/ Say it with your heart/ Your soul and believe it/ And I'd say amen”

Here’s a song from when Jon Bon Jovi was doing some work on his own. This is a great song that I think was on the Young Guns II soundtrack but I could be wrong. Still, it’s got that feel to it.

1027 - “Love Like Crazy” by Lee Brice

“They called them crazy when they started out/ Said, ‘Seventeen's too young to know what loves about’/ They've been together fifty-eight years now/ That's crazy”

What would Country music be without love songs?

1026 - “Every Day” by Rascal Flatts

“Sometimes I swear, I don't know if/ I'm comin' or goin'/ But you always say something/ Without even knowin'/ That I'm hangin' on to your words/ With all of my might and it's alright/ Yeah, I'm alright for one more night”

I think we’ve all had that friend who came up to us and said just the right thing when we needed it… even if they didn’t know they were doing that at the time.

1025 - “Ooh La La” by Rod Stewart

“I wish that I knew what I know now/ When I was younger./ I wish that I knew what I know now/ When I was stronger.”

And here we have a fun little song by Rod Stewart. The lyrics to this are pretty good/funny.

1024 - “Fly Like An Eagle” by Steve Miller Band

“Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'/ Into the future/ Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'/ Into the future”

I like the music in this song… the lyrics are just there.

1023 - “The Freshmen” by The Verve Pipe

“For the life of me I cannot remember/ What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise/ For the life of me I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins/ We were merely freshmen”

I remember liking this song when I was at Winthrop… as a freshman as luck would have it.

1022 - “Love Will Keep Us Alive” by The Eagles
“Now I’ve found you/ There’s no more emptiness inside/ When we’re hungry, love will keep us alive”

Wow… I’m somewhat surprised that this song is ranked this low on the list. It’s an Eagles song with Timothy B. Schmit taking the lead on vocals. How many weddings do you think this song is played at?

1021 - “Santeria” by Sublime

“Tell sanchito that if he knows what is good for him/ He best go run and hide/ Daddy's got a new .45”

A nice little song that College Greg really pushed to get on the list.

1020 - “Mean” by Taylor Swift

“You, with your switching sides/ And your wildfire lies and your humiliation/ You have pointed out my flaws again/ As if I don't already see them”

I’m not sure who it was that pissed her off this time, but yet again she was able to turn it into a good song.

1019 - “Some Guys Have All the Love” by Little Texas

“I don't live what some call the good life/ But I've got a good life with you”

There was a time (before college) when I was a big Little Texas fan. You will see a few songs by them from that time on this list.

1018 - “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins

“Headin' into twilight/ Spreadin' out her wings tonight/ She got you jumpin' off the deck/ And shovin' into overdrive”

If there is one thing Kenny Loggins is great at, it’s making music for movies. This little gem is, of course, from Top Gun.

1017 - “Island Girl” by Elton John

“Island girl/ What you wanting with the white man's world/ Island girl/ Black boy want you in his island world”

I’m going to be honest with you… this song made the list simply for the way Elton John sings the words ‘Island Girl’.

1016 - “Can't Stop This Thing We Started” by Bryan Adams

“You might stop the world spinnin' round/ Might even walk on holy ground/ I ain't Superman and I can't fly/ But if you wanna stop me baby - don't even try”

Nice song for a Canadian.

1015 - “If Love Was a Plane” by Brad Paisley

“Look at em' go./ Now what in the world could go wrong?/ Don't tell them the odds, It's best they don't know./ If Love was a plane, Nobody'd get on.”

Nothing fancy… just great lyrics.

1014 - “Dry County” by Bon Jovi

“Across the border they turn water into wine/ Some say it's the devil's blood/ They're squeezing from the vine/ Some say it's a savior/ In these hard and desperate times/ You see it helps me to forget that we're just born/ To die”

I really like the use of the piano in this song. It didn’t get a lot of radio play when it came out on the Keep The Faith album because it’s a song over 7 minutes long not named Free Bird (Live) or Stairway to Heaven.

1013 - “Pretty Good At Drinkin' Beer” by Billy Currington

“I wasn't born for diggin’ deep holes/ I'm not made for pavin’ long roads/ I ain’t cut out to climb high line poles/ But I'm pretty good at drinkin’ beer”

And here you get a look at the song that plays over and over in my head when I’m helping out at the lake house.

1012 - “We're Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister

“Oh you’re so condescending/ Your gall is never ending/ We don't want nothin'/ Not a thing from you”

A song that should be on every teenager’s playlist. A great song that, honestly, should probably have a better ranking than this. This song is even better when you think about lead singer Dee Snider testifying against censorship during a Senate hearing in 1985. If you haven’t heard his testimony to the Senate, I suggest you go to the Dee Snider page on Wikipedia and listen to it. I bet the people at this hearing were blown away to hear this guy speak. Tipper Gore messed with the wrong guy!

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Major Patrick Henry Brady (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on January 6, 1968 near Chu Lai, Republic of Vietnam. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, Maj. Brady distinguished himself while serving in the Republic of Vietnam commanding a UH-1H ambulance helicopter, volunteered to rescue wounded men from a site in enemy held territory which was reported to be heavily defended and to be blanketed by fog. To reach the site he descended through heavy fog and smoke and hovered slowly along a valley trail, turning his ship sideward to blow away the fog with the backwash from his rotor blades. Despite the unchallenged, close-range enemy fire, he found the dangerously small site, where he successfully landed and evacuated 2 badly wounded South Vietnamese soldiers. He was then called to another area completely covered by dense fog where American casualties lay only 50 meters from the enemy. Two aircraft had previously been shot down and others had made unsuccessful attempts to reach this site earlier in the day. With unmatched skill and extraordinary courage, Maj. Brady made 4 flights to this embattled landing zone and successfully rescued all the wounded. On his third mission of the day Maj. Brady once again landed at a site surrounded by the enemy. The friendly ground force, pinned down by enemy fire, had been unable to reach and secure the landing zone. Although his aircraft had been badly damaged and his controls partially shot away during his initial entry into this area, he returned minutes later and rescued the remaining injured. Shortly thereafter, obtaining a replacement aircraft, Maj. Brady was requested to land in an enemy minefield where a platoon of American soldiers was trapped. A mine detonated near his helicopter, wounding 2 crewmembers and damaging his ship. In spite of this, he managed to fly 6 severely injured patients to medical aid. Throughout that day Maj. Brady utilized 3 helicopters to evacuate a total of 51 seriously wounded men, many of whom would have perished without prompt medical treatment. Maj. Brady's bravery was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.

Private Edward Branagan (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on September 29, 1872 at Red River, Texas. His citation reads:

Gallantry in action.

Private Joseph E. Brandle (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on November 16, 1863 at Lenoire, Tennessee. His citation reads:

While color bearer of his regiment, having been twice wounded and the sight of one eye destroyed, still held to the colors until ordered to the rear by his regimental commander.