Love songs do not necessarily need to be about people, according to baseball-hat-wearing country singer Rodney Atkins [ tickets ]. "It's America," the patriotic No. 1-charting title track from his latest album, gives "love song" a whole new meaning.

"When people say 'love song,' you tend to think of a ballad just about a man and a woman," Atkins said during an interview with LiveDaily. "To me, 'It's America' is a love song about this country in the same way that 'Watching You' was a love song. 'It's America' fits that profile. It's about friends and family and a sense of community. It's a song. It's a celebration of life.

"It's not a big political song," added Atkins, who performed his song on "Good Morning America" on May 1. "There's no politics in it. It's about the simple things that are so great about this country, whether it's kids selling lemonade or kids running in the sprinkler in the front yard. That just represents the future of this country."

Speaking of "simple things," that was the very title that Atkins originally chose for his album. But record-company executives had other thoughts once they heard the song "It's America."

"'Simple Things' was representative of what everything on this album was about," Atkins said. "I thought that that title was the essence of right now what's going on with the country. Everybody's getting back to appreciating the simple things. That's what the album's all about--friends and family and community and living every day to the fullest.

"We hadn't even recorded 'It's America' and everybody was on board. Then when I found 'It's America,' recorded it, did the vocals and mixed it, they just got excited about that single."

But the song "Simple Things" is still close to his heart. It recalls a day he spent with his 7-year-old son Elijah in the creek behind his house, chasing tadpoles and riding four wheelers.

"I needed to return probably like 50 phone calls that day but watching him, I realized we're so far in the sticks that my cell phone wouldn't even work," Atkins said with a laugh. "Just watching him smile and laugh and both of us just being silly and just having the time of our lives, it was one of the best days ever. I realized this is who I am. I am not an artist. This is what I do. I'm a father and a husband and a son, that's who I am, that's who I'm always going to be. That's very important. It keeps me grounded, that song does. That's a special song for me."