"An American Family" is a single by American country music group The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet.The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in southern gospel during the 1950s...

. Released in 1989, it was the first single from the album American Dreams

American Dreams (album)

American Dreams is a studio album by American country music group The Oak Ridge Boys. It was released in 1989 via MCA Records. The album peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.-Track listing:#"Cajun Girl"...

. The song reached #4 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 chart.

Content

The song describes a typical American family, and notes that they aren't a big deal and "ain't gonna go down in history", but they are just part of "a little story of an American family." The first verse of the song describes a husband, who worked in a rail yard and is nearing retirement, and his loving wife. The second verse tells how the wife waited for her husband while he fought in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and how their son fought in the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. It also describes two other children, a son who is a lawyer in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and a daughter who married and stayed in her hometown.

The Oak Ridge Boys re-recorded the song for their patriotic album "Colors" in 2003. This version included a new bridge and chorus at the end of the song which referenced the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The additions shift the focus of the song from a single family to America as a country, and say that all Americans are part of an American family that pulls together during hard times. The 2003 version was recorded with William Lee Golden

William Lee Golden

William Lee Golden , a native of Brewton, Alabama, is an American country music singer. Between 1965 and 1987, and again from 1995 onward, he has been the baritone singer in the country music group The Oak Ridge Boys.-Personal life:...

, while Steve Sanders sang baritone on the original version.

Chart performance

Chart (1989)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	4
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	32