Songfacts®:

• "American Heart" was written by Jonathan Singleton and Jim Beavers. It tells the story of a woman who survives her struggles by her faith in the American dream. "It bleeds, it scars, but it shines when times get hard," Faith Hill sings. "You can't break an American heart." The song was released to country radio on October 1, 2012.
• Faith Hill debuted the song on Twitter (@faithhill) on September 30, 2012. It marked the first time a country artist debuted a single via the social networking site.
• Said Faith regarding the tune: "This song inspires. It grabs a hold of a very special place that we all have in our hearts. Times are hard and people are struggling, but our spirit as Americans always seems to prevail."
• The song's music video was shot in Nashville and directed by Trey Fanjoy. It features the dancing skills of Faith and 10-year-old TJ Jones as well as a heart-shaped American flag light installation. "When I first heard this song I was brought to tears," said Hill. "I not only knew I had to record it, but I almost immediately saw it visually. It's awesome and so appropriate to be able to share it with my fans first, because they've been so supportive of me throughout the years."
  
  The concept for the video came from the line in the song, "It bleeds, it scars, but it shines when times get hard." Director Trey Fanjoy explained in the behind-the-scenes film that inspired by the lyric, "we have created a 15-foot - well, it's over 15 feet, actually - and over 17 feet wide, illuminated ' American Heart' full of red, white and blue stars and stripes. There's a really special metaphor found in all of it, and each of the bulbs represents a different part of our country and a different spirit in our nation. Together, they form something that is bigger than all of us."
• The song was slated for an album called Illusion, which was going to be Faith Hill's seventh. The project bogged down, though, and it was shelved. The only songs that emerged from it were "Come Home" and "American Heart," which were both released as singles.