Tough Guy

A real stand-up guy.

 Written by four individuals, none of them named "Aldean" is  the controversial country music song, "Try That in a Small Town," performed by Jason Aldean.

Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk

Car jack an old lady at a red light
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store
Ya think it's cool, well, act a fool if ya like
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you're tough

Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
'Round here we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won't take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don't
Try that in a small town

Got a gun that my granddad gave me
They say one day they're gonna round up
Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck

Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
'Round here we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won't take lon
For you to find out, I recommend you don't

Try that in a small town
Full of good ol' boys, raised up right
If you're looking for a fight
Try that in a small town
Try that in a small town

Try that in a small town
(See how far ya make it down the road)
'Round here we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won't take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don't
Try that in a small town
Try that in a small town, mm-mm

Try that in a small town

Greg Price, a self-described "Philly guy" tweeter with over 296,000 alleged "followers," evidently loved the song celebrating small towns and bashing big cities (not in that order). He labeled it "an absolutely epic music video" which "rips into the left-wing riots, soft on crime governance in cities, gun control, and other leftist degradation." A real Philly guy, that fella.

But while some country music fans reveled in the obviously violent imagery and belligerence, Aldean

responded to the criticism in his latest tweet, denying claims of prejudice and what he called “pro lynching” themes.

“These references are not only meritless, but dangerous,” he wrote on Twitter. “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far.”

He continued, saying the song is supposed to be a call for unity.

“My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about.”

Oh yes, "normalcy" and unity because "(I) got a gun that my granddad gave me. They say one day they're gonna round up. Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck... See how far ya make it down the road." 

That's before we blow your head off- or at least before we threaten to do it before backing down. Aldean is as much a virtue signaler as all those guys and gals who donned baseball-style caps adorned with "NYPD" after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01 and mysteriously lost them after the first few years. when it no longer was cool.

We don't even know whether the incidents portrayed actually occurred in the USA but stoking anger is the point, anyway. It might appear hypocritical that the official video to lyrics including "cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up" includes various scenes of apparent urban violence while omitting anything from January 6, 2021.

Hypocritical but hardly surprising for Jason Aldine, who was Jason Aldine Williams until he changed his name because, of course, small town values. He was born in 1977 in the Georgia city of Macon, whose population at the time was something north (apologies to Aldean for the word) of 116,000. Hoping to make it big in country music, he later moved to the small town of Nashville. There (and in Gatlinburg), he currently owns one restaurant and is co-owner of another. Forbes estimates that he presently pulls down an annual income of $43.5 million, roughly the average in small towns.

Williams, or rather Aldine, is a prime example of the sort of individual the late, New York City-based conservative radio talk show host Bob Grant would frequently label "a fake, a phony, and a fraud."  Right-wing politics might be the only thing real about a profane guy posing as a down home, good ole boy while a member of the privileged 1%- and who won't even stand up and defend his own words.

 

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