There’s been an uproar these past two weeks and the spark for it is a song in a video by country music singer, Jason Aldean, entitled “Try That in a Small Town.”  The national media and the national Left are in convulsions alleging it contains lyrics that “glorified gun violence and conveyed traditionally racist ideas.” (NPR, 07-20-2023).

What is the song about and what does it convey?

These are the lyrics:

Try That in a Small Town

Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk
Carjack 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
Around 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

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

The racist assertion is rooted in the location where the video was shot, the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee.  The city allegedly was the site of several lynchings in the early 20th century. (The Daily Signal, July 21, 2023, S. McCarthy).

However, the production company responsible for Aldean’s video, TackleBox Productions, clarified that the singer (Aldean) did not choose the location where the video was shot.   TackleBox founder Shaun Silva further explained, “… any alternative narrative … is false” pointing out that the courthouse was a popular filming site outside of Nashville, Tenn. that has been included in several other music videos and films, including scenes in front of the Maury County Courthouse—with no public outcry—from Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), Steppin’ Into the Holiday (2022 TV Movie), and The Green Mile (1999).

Aldean’s video contains actual news footage of burning of the American flag, riots, robberies, anarchists spitting in the face of police and especially the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020.  It contrasts those images with home video footage of families playing ball and riding bikes, fathers and sons hunting together, and a young boy raising the American flag.

(I continue to hope the FBI will pursue the 2020 BLM rioters with the same intensity it has relentlessly pursued the Jan. 6th attendees.  The 2020 riots that took place in 140 U.S. cities during Summer of 2020 included arson, vandalism and looting that caused $2 billion in government and private property damage, caused injury to 2,000 police officers, and caused death to at least 19 Americans.) 

Aldean states there is no reference to race—actual or implied—in the song and that the song refers to the “feeling of a community that he had growing up, where people took care of their neighbors.”

The song is now # 1 and has been praised by many including President Trump: “Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song.  Support Jason all the way.”

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders: “the Left is now more concerned about Jason Aldean’s song calling out looters and criminals than they are about stopping looters and criminals.  That tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of Democrats and woke companies like CMT that cave to the liberal mob.”

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem: “I am shocked by what I’m seeing in this country, with people attempting to cancel the song and cancel Jason and his beliefs” …  Aldean is being “persecuted” for writing a song about “law and order” and “the freedom and liberty that this country was founded on,” adding, “Thank you for writing a song that America can get behind.”

Aldean responded to the screaming cancel mob with a sentiment millions of us share: ““What I am is a proud American.  I’m proud to be from here. I love our country.  I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bullshit started happening to it.”

Amen.