Bruce Springsteen thinks the best way to love your country is to slam it from one concert stage to the next. Aaron Lewis would rather sing about the values that make America great: Faith. Resilience. Pride in the country. And gratitude that seems to elude The Boss on the latter’s 2026 No Kings tour. Lewis, the Staind lead singer who segued into country stardom with the 2011 EP “Town Line,” pours out his patriotism on his new album, “Give My Country Back.” And yes, the title track is as fiery as expected. Lewis shreds Americans eager to fundamentally transform the freest country in the world. Now we’re standing on the shoulders of the ones that went before Proud of what they did to make it all worth dying for Yeah, you bite the hand that feeds you And it ought to be a crime You wave a flag from somewhere else while you’re burning mine Lewis, 54, tells The Daily Wire his sixth solo album extols a value that’s in short supply today: accountability. “You don’t have to look very far in either direction to see hundreds of examples of there being no accountability left in this world,” Lewis says. That, and a lack of gratitude for the country’s many blessings, can’t help but stick in the singer’s craw. “I’m very lucky. I’ve been able to travel all over the world with the job I’ve had for 30 years … this is the most amazing country on the face of the planet without a close second,” Lewis says. “If you’re 50 years old and older, it’s now your responsibility for your grandkids and children to receive from you a better country than you received from your grandparents and your parents,” he adds. “We’re the only country where it works that way.” “Give My Country Back” finds Lewis weighing in on issues of gratitude and love of country, steeped in his textured vocals and an old-school country spirit. You can smell the leather and grit on his honky tonk tracks. You won’t miss his message, but he says the delivery method for most of his material isn’t meant to push anyone away. “I’m never trying to hit anybody over the head with it … nobody wants to get screamed in their face,” he says. “When you start that, they stop listening.” And he shares his deeply held opinions for a reason. That said, the title track is getting a live reaction akin to his biggest hits, think “Am I the Only One” and “Country Boy.” “I usually know pretty quickly that I did something right,” he says of the live audience feedback. He describes other new tracks, like “Bad Thing To Be Good At,” as an example of an older, wiser musician “owning all of my s***.” The new album, produced by Sol Philcox-Littlefield, finds Lewis collaborating on many of the tracks. It’s a different writing process from the one he embraces with Staind music, and it’s one that took some time to process. “It’s just a different culture in the country world,” he says. “It honestly felt good at first … it took all the onus and weight off my shoulders.” The singer co-wrote five of the album’s 10 tracks, working with veteran collaborators like Jeffrey Steele, Bobby Pinson, Travis Meadows, and Casey Beathard. The difference is in the level of satisfaction he finds when he harnesses a personal outlook, which isn’t quite the same here – “it almost feels like I’m cheating,” he quips. He might return to a more personal approach for his next country release. Lewis maintains a dual strategy for his career. He has fall tour dates planned with Staind while currently bringing “Give My Country Back” to concert venues nationwide. He still draws a clear distinction between projects. “I’ve never pulled any punches whatsoever … I’ve really just said whatever the f*** was on my mind,” he says, an approach that applies to his solo music. With Staind, he follows a different course. “I don’t say anything during the entire [live] Staind show, and at the end I say, ‘goodnight,’” he says. “I do all of my talking … all of my opinions or thoughts or whatever it may be, only when it’s my name on it. I have put in quite a bit of effort to ensure that there is a separation.” Call Lewis the “anti-Boss.” And, since the interview wasn’t for a Staind project or tour, he weighed in on Springsteen’s hard-Left pivot. “He has been a member of the elite class for so long,” Lewis said of the New Jersey rocker, whom he dubs “disconnected” from the working class. Springsteen has taken heat in recent years for his sky-high concert ticket prices, something he has defended rather than addressed, all while he keeps railing against President Trump on stage and off. “Everything he stands for is bulls***.  It’s all just anti-American bulls***. I don’t have any tolerance for it,” Lewis says. The Rutland, Vermont native has straddled two major genres over the past 15 or so years, and he’s not against stretching some more. He envisions another side of his musical life, a trippy, electronica sound that has caught his attention. He’s already mastered two genres. Why not another? He says he’d like to duck away with a collaborator well versed in that style and “just see what comes out of it.” *** Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. He’s also the host of The Hollywood in Toto Podcast. Follow him at @HollywoodInToto.