Before betting house money and winning big in 2019 with a version of Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," Billy Ray Cyrus deserved credit as more than Miley Cyrus' dad or the singer of "Achy Breaky Heart." In fact, the title track of Some Gave All, the 1992 debut album that brought us what's now the second best-known pop cultural phenomenon involving Cyrus, proves the depth of his country music catalog.
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"Some Gave All" pays tribute to the brave men and women who've served in the United States military, making it one of several great Veterans Day anthems to come out of Nashville. Cyrus and his wife at the time, Cindy Smith, penned the ode to Sandy Cane and others who've protected our freedom overseas. It's a moving, patriotic story-song: one that'd be more even beloved if it'd been cut by Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton or someone else with more staying power as a hit-making country artist.
Read More: Our 20-Song, Patriotic Country Song Playlist
Billy Ray and Cindy Cyrus were also the songwriters behind "Wher'm I Gonna Live?," a single about their fracturing marriage. The couple divorced in 1991, with Billy Ray marrying Miley's mother, Tish, in 1993.
Over the years, "Some Gave All" became a go-to song for honoring fallen soldiers, with its lyrics "all gave some, some gave all" often etched on memorials of veterans who've served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I think it's the reason I bought a guitar and started a band," Cyrus told Rolling Stone Country about the song. "If I had only written and recorded that one song, I think that was and is my purpose. 'Some Gave All' has run a very special course through the line of our military."
Other standout tracks from Cyrus' Joe Scaife and Jim Cotton-produced Mercury Records debut include the Billboard chart hits "Could've Been Me" and "She's Not Cryin' Anymore."
This story was previously published on Nov. 11, 2019.
'Some Gave All' Lyrics:
I knew a man, called him Sandy Cane
Few folks even knew his name
But a hero yes was he
He left a boy came back a man
Still many just don't understand
About the reasons we are free
I can't forget the look in his eyes
Or the tears he cried
As he said these words to me
All gave some and some gave all
Some stood through for the red, white, and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me, think of all your liberties
And recall some gave all
Now Sandy Cane is no longer here
But his words are oh so clear
As they echo throughout our land
For all his friends who gave us all
Who stood the ground and took the fall
To help their fellow man
Love your country live with pride
And don't forget those who died
America, can't you see
All gave some and some gave all
Some stood through for the red, white, and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me, think of all your liberties
And recall some gave all
And if you ever think of me, think of all your liberties
And recall, yes recall
Some gave all, some gave all
Now Watch: Randy Travis Sings 'Amazing Grace'
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