JASON ALDEAN ("TRY THAT IN A SMALL TOWN" Becomes No. 2 Hit) AND WENDELL BERRY (25-07-2023)

 

 

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
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

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
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

Try that in a small town
Ooh-ooh
Try that in a small town

 

 

 

@wendelldaily#wendellberry#manifesto1

Every day do something
That won't compute
Denounce the government and embrace
The flag.Hope to live in that free
Republic for which it stands
Expect the end of the world.Laugh
Laughter is immeasurable

— Guillermo Ruiz Zapatero (@ruiz_zapatero) December 13, 2020

Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter that lawmakers “have an obligation to condemn Jason Aldean’s heinous song calling for racist violence. What a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism.” 

Mr. Aldean denied that race had any part in the lyrics, or that his hit was a “pro-lynching song.” “In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests,” Mr. Aldean wrote on Twitter. He added that “these references are not only meritless, but dangerous.”

 “‘Try That In A Small Town’, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief,” Mr. Aldean wrote. “Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.”

 “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,” he concluded.

On Instagram this week, Mr. Aldean again rejected the accusation that his song referenced “race or points to it.”