Although Jason Aldean claims that Try That in a Small Town is a celebration of community despite the song’s lyrics, which have caused it to be taken off Country Music Television, threatening violence against demonstrators,
One of the biggest names in American country music, Jason Aldean, has come under fire for a new song and music video called Try That in a Small Town that contains threats of violence against police demonstrators.
Here are some of the song’s lyrics: “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, you think you’re tough / Well, try that in a small town / See how far you make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own.”
Jason Aldean then makes a reference to an idea that the US government wants to round up the populace: “Got a gun my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.”
Interspersed throughout the film are scenes of angry demonstrators and police clashing. The Maury County courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where the performance portion of the video was filmed, has a sad past. There, a Black man named Henry Choate was lynched there in 1927.
Country Music Television has since taken the video off of their channel, but hasn’t offered any explanations or justifications for the action. It is still available on YouTube, where it has received over 800,000 views.
Although many right-wing analysts have backed Jason Aldean, he is being criticized by Sheryl Crow, who posted on Twitter, “I’m from a little town. Even in small communities, people are tired of violence.
Promoting violence is not small-town or even American. Having experienced a major shooting, you ought to know it better than anyone. This is not like a little town in America. It’s absolutely pathetic.
When Jason Aldean was performing at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas in October 2017, the bloodiest mass shooting in recent US history occurred, which is the shooting Crow is referring to despite 60 people being killed and 867 injured, he and his band managed to escape unscathed.
Try That In a Small Town is defended by Aldean, who disputes assertions that song makes reference to the Black Lives Matter movement. “In the
I’ve been charged with publishing a song in support of lynching in the last 24 hours. and was compared to the nationwide BLM protests, with which I (direct quote) wasn’t too happy,” he remarked on Twitter. These references are risky in addition to being worthless. The song doesn’t mention or allude to race in any of its lyrics.
Added him:
Do that For me, the phrase “In a Small Town” describes the sense of belonging I experienced while growing up, where we looked out for one another regardless of our backgrounds or religious beliefs. Because, despite our differences, they were our neighbors.
I have never concealed my political opinions, and I am aware that many of us in the country don’t agree on how to return to a state of normalcy where we can go at least a day without reading a headline that keeps us up at night, this country is divided. But this song is about the yearning for it to happen.
The previous ten years saw Aldean at the height of his career, with four straight US No. 1 albums and two more hitting the No. 2 spot. In total, he has 24 No. 1 singles on the US country charts. He also often entered the pop charts with six US Top 20 songs, including Dirt Road Anthem, Big Green Tractor, and most recently, his duet with Carrie Underwood, If I Didn’t Love You.