Let the Eagle Soar
2002 song performed by John Ashcroft
"Let the Eagle Soar" is a song written by former Missouri Senator and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who is seen singing the song at a Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary function on February 23, 2002. The song was sung during President of the United States George W. Bush's second inauguration in January 2005 by Guy Hovis, a vocalist from the 1970s variety program The Lawrence Welk Show.
On July 4, 2011 Angela McKenzie, a singer and radio personality of the syndicated program Initiative Radio with Angela McKenzie, quietly released a contemporary Country music version of the song as a digital download with the official approval and blessing of John Ashcroft.
Background
John Ashcroft sang in The Singing Senators, a group of U.S. Senators who sang as a barbershop quartet.
In popular culture
"Let the Eagle Soar" was sung by lil' John Ashcroft on an episode of Lil' Bush.
It has also been frequently mocked on late-night comedy shows such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report and the Late Show with David Letterman.
It is part of Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, and is also featured in the trailer.
It was used in the 2015 film The Big Short and the 2021 film Don't Look Up.
The public source identifies “Let the Eagle Soar” as 2002 song performed by John Ashcroft. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Eagle, Soar and song.
Why this record matters
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6533083. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2015.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Let the Eagle Soar” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.