Songfacts®:

• Here, John Rich challenges the notion that progressive ideology has brought "progress" to America. Rather, it's actually regressive and destructive.
• Rich believes Joe Biden and his government are destroying his country. He slams their immigration policies and takes them to task for pulling troops from Afghanistan.
  
  They invite the whole world to come live in our land
  And leave our countrymen dying in Afghanistan
  
  Rich claims the government is anti-faith, and has replaced religion with belief in government.
  
  They say let go of Jesus and let government save
  You can have back your freedoms if you do what we say
  
  He contends Biden and his fellow Democrats ban anything that doesn't tie in with their "woke" beliefs.
  
  They shut down our pipelines and they shut down our voices
  They shut down our Main Streets and they shut down our choices
• John Rich wrote and produced "Progress" himself. Aware that the conservative views he expresses in the song would outrage many in the music business, he introduced the single via two notoriously free-speech social media platforms. "When I'm talking about them shutting down our voices, I'm talking about Twitter and YouTube and Facebook," Rich said. "And I thought, you know what, I'm gonna reach out to Truth Social and reach out to Rumble because they still allow free speech over there. Why would I launch this song on the platforms that I'm railing against in the lyrics."
  
  Truth Social is the social-media network owned by former US President Donald Trump. Their connection goes back to 2011 when Trump named Rich the winner of The Celebrity Apprentice, Season 11. The singer later performed at a pre-inaugural ceremony after Trump's victory in the general election.
• Rich released "Progress" on July 21, 2022. Within a few hours, the song hit #1 on the iTunes Top 100 Songs chart. "Here I am with no record label, no publisher, no marketing deal," Rich stated. "I just got a song that speaks to a lot of people, and Truth and Rumble pushed it out there. And man, I'm really proud of what we did today."
• Rich is one of the most vocal conservatives in the country music community. The Nashville-based singer hosts his own show on Fox Nation, The Pursuit, and publicly supported Trump's presidency. The Big & Rich singer often expresses his politically conservative views in his music. Other song titles of his include "Shuttin' Detroit Down" and "Shut Up About Politics."