About

Three Purple Hearts or the "This Land" JibJab Song, also known as 3 Purple Hearts, refers to a series of memes based on an animation and song parody of "This Land" created by JibJab, where the 68th United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, sings bragadociously about being awarded three Purple Hearts for his military service. The animation was posted on JibJab's site in July 2004 and then on YouTube in November 2007, resurfacing on sites like TikTok in March 2026 as the subject of absurd brainrot edits and memes.

Origin

The democratic 68th United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, who served under Barack Obama, is known to have been awarded three Purple Heart medals for his service in the Vietnam War.

Purportedly, Kerry mentioned his Purple Heart medals numerous times while running against George W. Bush for the presidency in 2004. This was used against Kerry by political opponents in the past, with some spreading claims that he lied about his service to get the medals.^[1][2]

The video was originally published on JibJab's website on July 19th, 2004, as a Flash animation titled "This Land," which garnered significant virality and media attention.^[9]

On November 16th, 2007, the JibJab YouTube^[3] channel uploaded an animated video that pits Bush against Kerry in a singing battle. In the video, they sing a parody of "This Land," where the lyrics are changed to be about their accomplishments and downfalls. In the video, Kerry mentions his Purple Heart medals three times.

Spread

On July 9th, 2025, X^[4] user @Booperlooperss posted, "did I just make the song of the summer," over a phonk remix of the song and video, garnering over 21,000 likes in nine months.

On July 21st, TikToker^[5] @grisheexi reposted the remix, garnering over 403,000 views in the same rough span of time.

The video and song became the subject of further memes in March 2026. For example, on March 1st, 2026, TikToker^[6] @crabjuice07 posted a brainrot edit based on the video, garnering over 107,000 views in just under two months.

On March 4th, 2026, TikToker^[7] @danksonicfan posted a similar brianrot edit based on John Kerry's portions of the song, garnering over 129,000 views in just under two months.

On March 11th, TikToker^[8] @nanochippa posted an edit of the video that combines several niche brainrot meme formats, gaining over 185,000 views in a month.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References