A song for troubled times?

In 1992, singer-songwriter Steve Vaus signed a recording contract with RCA. The resulting CD was called “We Must Take America,” and the title track instantly struck a chord with Americans starved for entertainment that spoke to them, touched their hearts and reinforced their core values.

“We must take American back,” Vaus sang. “Put an end to the gangs and the drugs in the street and the fact that the bad guys most always go free. That is wrong. We need leaders who lead us, not stick us and bleed us and take all our money and send it abroad. We must take America back. We need prayer in schools and more things made in USA. It’s the least we can do for the red, white and blue. We must take America back.”

The song began climbing the charts in some markets. Many radio stations found it was the most requested song in their inventory after listeners had a chance to hear it. Vaus’ star seemed to be rising.

But, after a few complaints from some big-city radio stations about the patriotic nature of the song, the company decided to pull the CD off the market.

Now, nearly a decade later, Vaus is back with what some are seeing as the next “God Bless the USA,” Lee Greenwood’s patriotic anthem that defined the American Persian Gulf War experience.

It’s called “There Is An Eagle.” And judging from the reaction of audiences that have heard it played on a handful of radio stations across the country, it could help define American patriotism during this new war on terrorism.

“There have been few times in my life when I felt absolutely compelled to write songs – as though I had no other choice – as though God was saying, ‘Look, this is what your purpose, your reason for living is,'” explained Vaus, a San Diego recording artist who has worked with top stars, including Willie Nelson, Christine McVie and Kenny Rogers. “I felt that calling when I wrote ‘We Must Take America Back’ in 1992; when I wrote ‘Will You Be Among the Patriots’ in ’94; when I wrote ‘I Still Believe’ in ’97. But never more so than this past weekend.”

That’s how new this recording is. Vaus wrote it last Saturday and recorded it Monday. It has already been heard by hundreds of thousands who are clamoring to get copies – copies still being pressed into CDs at this moment.

“I had a vision – that’s the only way to describe it – of an eagle soaring above the rubble in New York City,” Vaus said. “And in my mind it was the same eagle that has soared over every battlefield America has ever fought for. And along with the eagle, I saw our flag.”

You can hear the song and read the lyrics on Vaus’ website.

Vaus, who has been without a record contract since his “We Must Take America Back” days, is aiming to bypass the music industry’s normal release track and get this song played on radio stations nationwide in the next few days by raising the production and distribution money independently. He’s also not selling the song, only his extensive collection of earlier CDs.

“I want this song to be more than a poignant moment just for now,” he says. “I want it to help us remember all that we have ever fought for, and how we pull together at times such as this – truly one nation under God, indivisible.”