On Aaron Lewis and “Am I The Only One”

I didn’t want to go here. Because ultimately when you have a politically charged song that’s a mixed bag and requires nuanced and complex thoughts to dissect accurately and objectively, it’s just going to be misunderstood by more people than not, as folks read what they want and infer the rest in black and white notions in a reality of grey, or they’re just sent off the deep end by some dog whistle.
But “Am I The Only One” by Aaron Lewis has gone from a surprise single to a cultural phenomenon topping charts where commentary and discussion now feels required, and frankly, it might be a little cowardly to remain mum. So despite the flame war that surely will ensue, here are some thoughtful and informed opinions that hopefully the adults in the room will find some value in, and hopefully the rest will leave it be if they can’t participate in a good faith discussion, though admittedly, this is probably wishful thinking.
The fundamental reason “Am I the Only One” is resonating so widely is because it’s tapping into an unfulfilled and voraciously hungry desire for counterpoints in popular American culture. In a very granular and passionate manner, Aaron Lewis captures this fomenting frustration among large swathes of Americans who feel they can’t share what are ultimately very mainstream opinions without fear of losing their careers and their place in polite society. Being unable to speak upon common truths creates a bottleneck of emotions, and if anything pushes individuals towards more extremist views and venues, feeding the bigotry and hatred that the stifling of certain speech purports to work to resolve.
Specifically, millions of Americans are tired of being told that despite its major flaws—of which there are many—the United States is a tyrannical nation that on the whole hasn’t done more good than harm both for its own citizens and for the world as a beacon for freedom and classically liberal values, as if people aren’t clawing to get here as opposed to so many other nations where people are trying to leave, while some in modern society have lost sight that many Americans have sacrificed in blood and treasure to make that dream of personal liberty a reality.
And when it all boils over, you not only get a song like “Am I The Only One,” you get the kind of resounding reception it has received. It also helps that as a song, “Am I The Only One” comes across as poignant and impassioned, with weight behind the words. Aaron Lewis utilizes the full range of his character-filled voice to turn in a career-defining performance in a rather naked arrangement reminiscent of the highly-regarded Staind song “Outside.” The frustration and pent-up anger inside Aaron is palpable, and the audience feels this fundamentally.
But if you feel a “but” coming on, you would be correct. The devil of this song is in the details. As successfully as the emotion of Aaron Lewis and his constituency is captured in this track—and as much as it hits the nail on the head in regards to tenor and timing—the lyrics of “Am I The Only One” are just littered with inconsistencies and some outright hypocrisy, rendering the song inert if not problematic as a persuasive work, or as anything more than just red meat slung towards a fan base, while it’s defeatist attitude makes it more of a lamentation than a true rallying cry for perspective and patriotism like many of these flag-waving anthems look to do.
Aaron Lewis sings about watching the threads of Old Glory coming undone, but then goes on to bemoan the toppling of statues, of which the majority happen to honor men who rose up against Old Glory in the name of the Confederacy. Of course that’s not all of them. Statues for Abraham Lincoln and other worthy patriots have been toppled or desecrated too, which is pure lunacy, while the complex legacies of figures such as Robert E. Lee who basically ended the Civil War with his surrender at Appomattox against the orders of civilian leadership go undiscussed. There’s a reason you see and hear about statues to General Lee, and few for Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
It’s not that most of the intent of Aaron Lewis here is not righteous. It’s that he lets his anger get the best of him, and bogs the song down with specific grievances on current events that likely won’t age well when generalities would have been more useful. In so many ways this song feels like a loser’s cry as opposed to an reaffirmation of the American ideal, selling us on why America is exceptional.
Perhaps the greatest sin of “Am I the Only One” is when Aaron Lewis besmirches the sanctity of music, and goes after Bruce Springsteen specifically. Sure, The Boss can be a pill when he gets up on a soapbox and acts like he’s smarter than all of us similar to so many other entertainers when broaching political subjects. What makes their voice and opinion count more than the rest of ours? But if you allow Springsteen’s pointed opinions to usurp your joy in listening to “Born to Run,” or Bruce’s album Nebraska, then you’re doing music fandom all wrong, and are limiting the fulfillment of your musical experience for totally unnecessary reasons. And I’ve got news for you: If you can’t stand Springsteen for his political views, then you better get ready to 86 about 80% of your music library.
Apparently what ticked off Aaron Lewis specifically was Springsteen saying if Trump won the Presidential election he would move to Australia. Sure, that’s an elitist attitude, and the wrong approach to take. If you don’t like what’s going on in the United States, it’s your duty as an American to stay here and fight it because most don’t have the capacity to flee to another country. But in “Am I The Only One,” Aaron Lewis delivers the line about America, “If you don’t like it there’s the fuckin’ door.” Well wasn’t that what Bruce Springsteen was promising to do if the outcome didn’t go his way?
I don’t like Bruce Springsteen getting political on our asses any more than I like Aaron Lewis doing it. Because it brings out the worst in people, and the stupid in people, and undermines one of music’s most sacred attributes, which is the sharing of perspectives and the bridging of differences as one of the last few institutions people of different backgrounds and ideologies can enjoy together, and use to learn from each other. Sure, there’s also a time to pin your ears back, raise a black flag, and spew venom. But sometimes, if not often, those moments can backfire by giving ammunition and a rallying cry to your adversaries.
Aaron Lewis doesn’t make a convincing argument here, he’s just being argumentative, and frankly, a bit whiny. And depending on what side you’re on, you’ll hear what you want, take from it what you will, and we’ll all retire to our respective corners, and the culture war that’s meant to distract us all from the fact that the affluent and elite are fleecing the rest of us will continue on since we’re so angry at each other over statues nobody cared enough clean the bird shit off until someone threatened to tear it down, and jingoistic country songs from former rock stars, we ignore the fact that the corporate and political plutocracy soldiers on, and the rich eat you.
Either you will absolutely love this song, or you will positively detest it in the bifurcated, split-screen culture we currently live in, and a song like this helps to reinforce. Because you better choose a side start lobbing grenades at the other one. Otherwise you’ll be stuck in the worst of scenarios, which is seeing this song for what it is: an passionate work capturing a human emotion that is probably worthy of the attention it is receiving, while also being fundamentally flawed in some of its reasoning. Saying something that objective will make you the enemy of both sides.
Ultimately, “Am I The Only One” has and likely will continue to do what every song sets out to do: have a grand impact, and be remembered. For better, or worse. Undoubtedly, it is having a moment.
July 15, 2021 @ 8:58 am
I am interested to see if this song gets any airplay, I suspect not
July 15, 2021 @ 11:41 am
It is being played on Red Dirt 96.7. Arkansas’s only Red Dirt radio station.
July 16, 2021 @ 9:17 am
Yeah I believe that. Can’t see it getting played on the Highway or the Bobby Bones types
July 21, 2021 @ 6:13 am
The people who write these stories are the tree hugging, whiners, that are destroying this country, the its all about me generation is destroying the basic principles that this country was founded on. I’m with Aaron get the fuck out
July 22, 2021 @ 11:20 am
Cool story bro
August 25, 2021 @ 1:14 am
Right, wrong or indifferent? Aaron Lewis is a voice for at least 70 million of us. Bruce Springsteen should change his nAme to Broke Leafspring. This article is clearly an underhanded shot at a great song. Giving undeniable Compliments followed by inaccurate insults, is an attempt to appear unbiased. More statues fell than Robert e Lee. Abe Lincoln ring a bell? Think Pantifa only went after Confederate statues? They want all of America’s historical value diminished. You are correct sir. USA first! Thank a vet! We appreciative citizens do. Thanks for a great comment I could vent on. God bless the USA! You’re not the only one!
September 24, 2021 @ 2:25 am
Im with Aaron too. If you aren’t indigenous to this country and want to bitch and moan when things as your “America” don’t go the way you were taught or see fit… Then by all means quit crying in a song and GET THE FUCK OUT. Right? Don’t forget that shit includes you. Talk about tree hugging whiners. And basic principles!? So quick to be fucking entitled to this “free” country that has never been free. Must be nice to feel so entitled that you actually said “Get the fuck out”.. as if you have any right to. hahaha.
October 24, 2021 @ 10:57 pm
I’m gonna bet you aren’t indigenous. You’re a native? LOL
June 24, 2023 @ 11:46 am
I’m with you Bruce! Love how this guy wants to tare apart the lyrics of the song and take things out of context. Aaron is just trying to show people the truth at hand. Feel sorry for people who don’t see that and believe the lies we are fed.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:43 pm
Always playing the victim, poor things 🙁
July 18, 2021 @ 8:11 am
You mean black people or gender neutral Democrats?
July 20, 2021 @ 12:24 pm
No, all the QOP pussies who whine that “the media won’t talk about X” when the media literally is running stories about X
August 25, 2021 @ 1:23 am
Only stories they must! Remember the riotors and looters in places like Seattle that the media called peaceful protests? Trump’s few executive orders soon after elected, that the media claimed were unconstitutional by number alone. Claiming they dissolved the accomplishments of his predecessors. Then Biden exponentially destroys the Eo count, crickets. Good game tho.
July 15, 2021 @ 4:53 pm
I PREFER THE FEMALE SINGERS VERSION…. YOU KNOW,. PLEASE SAVE US PRESIDENT TRUMP, BIDENS GOT SUM CRAZY FLAG….THAT ONE
SHE CAN’T PLAY GUITAR EITHER
July 20, 2021 @ 9:52 am
Hearing it on multiple stations in the Phoenix area
July 20, 2021 @ 5:05 pm
One of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time!!!????????????????????????????????????????I love how all the whiny liberals are getting triggered!
January 10, 2022 @ 2:34 pm
Your all a bunch of losing idiots i sure scammed you
July 15, 2021 @ 8:59 am
Trigger: Please leave the politics and culture wars out of this website.
Also Trigger: Here is my 9000th article this month about politics and culture wars.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:11 am
“Am I The Only One” is the #1 song in country music right now. It is also a top 15 song in ALL of music, and surging. It might end up being the biggest song in all of country music this year. I am sorry that it involves the culture war, and if you read this article, you will see how I underscored how frustrated I am that I even have to broach this subject. But ignoring it would be irresponsible.
There have not been many articles involving the culture war this month, or any other. It’s just they’re the only ones people seem to interact with, while dozens of other articles go virtually ignored. Country music right now is ground zero for the culture war. And if counterpoints are not offered into the public discourse, only the people looking to undermine country music who often are decidedly outside the country music fold will be the only ones talking.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:37 am
Honestly, I don’t get the controversy surrounding this song. A majority of the lyrics are patriotic and pro-American. Sure, there is a personal jab at Springsteen, but overall it’s mild compared to other political driven songs. In fact, what brings most truth to the meaning of this song is that it’s considered controversial at all. It’s sad times when a song that implores the American citizens to love their country is labeled as radical. As a Veteran, this song was just what I needed as a backdrop to my Independence Day weekend.
God Bless America, and thank you Aaron Lewis for having the courage to speak to our country’s greatness in unsettling times. I’m happy it has been successful for him.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:26 pm
I find it refreshing to see pro patriotic songs that aren’t 2000’s pro-war conservative blowhard jams. I’m not a fan of Aaron Lewis, but when I first heard this song from a live recording a few months back, I felt something.
July 20, 2021 @ 9:59 am
I agree. Really, country music is the natural counterpoint to everything that has transpired over the last year. This should not be a surprise to anyone. I hope more country artists take a stand and release more patriotic music; it has always been a hallmark of the genre.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:52 pm
This song isn’t treading on any different ground than “Are the Good Times Really Over for Good” despite its overt conservative themes.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:13 am
“Am I the only one not brainwashed?
Makin’ my way through the land of the lost
Who still gives a shit and worries ’bout his kids
As they try to undo all the things he did?”
No, Aaron, you’re not the only one who worries about his kids. That’s why the liberals that you despise with such vitriol want to have stricter gun laws: so kids can go to school without their parents having to worry that they’re going to be shot.
“Another statue comin’ down in a town near you”
As Kyle pointed out (rightly for once), yes, more Confederate statues, statues of people who fought against the country you claim you love, are being torn down.
“Am I the only one who quits singin’ along
Every time they play a Springsteen song?”
In this case, yes, you are the only one. If you don’t like Springsteen, you can get bent.
“Still holdin’ on, holdin’ back my tears
For the ones who paid with the lives they gave”
The ones that Donald Trump called “suckers” and “losers”?
“Am I the only one who can’t take no more
Screamin’, “If you don’t like it, there’s the fuckin’ door””
Well, you know what, Aaron, I could say the same thing back to you: if you don’t like what YOU see, there’s the fucking door and you can walk out anytime YOU feel like it.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:35 am
Great song. It’s funny the people who won’t like it will try to explain how awful and stupid it is and in doing so will just prove the songs point. And they still won’t get it
July 15, 2021 @ 10:20 am
My problem with this song is the out-and-out unabashed hypocrisy of the lyrics (as pointed out with examples in my comment). I would be fine with a song that espoused Conservative viewpoints, but this song doesn’t even do that. It just spews hatred and accuses anyone who doesn’t agree with Lewis is not loving the country.
And don’t get me wrong…there are plenty of liberally slanted songs that do the same thing.
Likewise, artists like Chris Knight are able to espouse Conservative values without coming across as an arrogant blowhard.
This is just a flat out hypocritical song which does nothing but recite Cult45 talking points.
July 15, 2021 @ 1:31 pm
Ah the delusion of the woke. Other than maybe a half a point about statues your original post is full of BS lies and half truths. It is what it is, conservatives probably like it liberals probably don’t nuff said.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:03 pm
Ah….”woke”…..the current word Republicans like to use to try to insult people who don’t share their 19th century view of the world.
.
Believe me…I consider it an honor to be called “woke.” You’re not insulting me in the least. You just make yourself look foolish.
August 25, 2021 @ 2:49 am
Liar! You despise conservative viewpoints therefore bypassing any legitimate plausibility that your bullshit statement could have remotely approached. Good game tjo
August 25, 2021 @ 8:35 pm
Liar! You despise conservative viewpoints therefore bypassing any legitimate plausibility that your bullshit statement could have remotely approached. Good game tho you are an idiot
February 18, 2022 @ 10:31 pm
Spot on! There’s a very good reason it went to number 1 so quickly! Because it expresses how the majority of working class real Americans feel!
July 15, 2021 @ 9:37 am
I’m sorry cobra this wasn’t meant as a reply to you. I meant for it to be a stand alone comment.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:42 am
Fuckin lazy comment. How does gun control affect your kids positively without the introduction of unicorn farts into the equation?
July 15, 2021 @ 11:25 am
Seems like you put as much thought into that comment as Aaron Lewis did into this song.
Only in the mindset of modern Republicans could it make sense that, with tens of thousands of gun deaths there is no need for stricter gun laws, but 2-3 verifiable cases of voter fraud means we need 60 new voter suppression laws.
Seriously, are you even capable of rational thought?
July 15, 2021 @ 12:21 pm
Only in the times of modern democrats is concertina wire & armed militia used to keep Americans away from their government.
Grow up Cobra.
Make your point without slinging your crap
July 15, 2021 @ 1:25 pm
Well, kiddo, when a bunch of traitors try to overrun the Capitol to try to overturn a free and fair election because TFG asked them to and Republican leaders continued to spread The Big Lie, that type of protection seems warranted.
You’re the one who needs to grow up, kiddo.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:18 pm
Know what i appreciate Cobra?
The tone of Your reply, to my reply.
Seriously, Thank you.
: D
Wonder how Trig is liking the pre – goings on in Montana …
July 15, 2021 @ 10:47 am
Cobra,
Politics aside, musically you provided my favorite quote “If you don’t like Springsteen, you can get bent.”
July 15, 2021 @ 12:15 pm
Criminals don’t obey gun laws. Chicago has fairly rigid gun laws, and look how many people have been shot to death there recently. 104 people were shot over the 4th of July weekend. 19 of them died. 13 of the shooting victims were children. Certain people want to ban “assault rifles” and such, but handguns account for far, far more murders than so-called “assault weapons”. Stricter gun laws will do very little to nothing to ameliorate gun violence, and any attempts at them are not serious without a total outright ban on possession of all guns, including handguns. And then, only the criminals will have them, because criminals don’t obey gun laws. Murderers are especially hostile to gun laws, obviously. And then there’s the little matter of that 2nd Amendment which so many people seem to hate. The answers lie not in stricter gun laws, but in going to the source of the violence; where it comes from in the first place. Once you have corrected the violent and murderous impulses of the many who murder will children be safe, will women be safe, will homeowners be safe, will business owners be safe, will Americans be safe from gun violence.
July 15, 2021 @ 1:29 pm
Criminals don’t obey gun laws? I bet you had a real self-satisfied smirk when you shat that one out, but I’m about to burst your bubble:
Criminals don’t obey laws, period. That’s what makes them criminals, genius.
Plus, your argument is flawed. Since gun laws very from state-to-state, people can go outside of Chicago and buy guns where laws are less rigid and bring them back. All your argument does is support my assertion that we need more standardized and consistent FEDERAL gun laws.
Thanks for playing, but you lose.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:20 pm
Federal gun laws are unconstitutional.
2nd Amendment says “shall not be infringed.”
Quit trampling on my constitutional rights under the false flag of safety. Just because you are scared of guns doesn’t mean you have to restrict my access.
July 15, 2021 @ 5:58 pm
The 2nd Amendment also says “well regulated,” there. You might want to consider not skipping over that part the next time you’re you’re using your gun to compensate for what you lack between your legs.
July 16, 2021 @ 10:40 am
“Well-regulated” is referring to the militia which consists of the people. As in ensuring that the militia were trained.
Learn the Constitution.
October 24, 2021 @ 11:06 pm
Where are those well regulated militias?
July 15, 2021 @ 2:52 pm
Criminals don’t obey laws. Correct. Including gun laws. Pass gun laws and those people will not obey them. They already do not. When you’re passing restrictive gun laws, you’re only preventing responsible gun owners from owning guns. The criminals will be the only ones with them, and they would have free reign to terrorize as many innocent people as possible with little fear of self defense on the part of those they violate. And if you want all states to follow one model, which state’s model of gun laws would you prefer? How about Texas’s? What’s good for a prosperous state like Texas should be good enough for the rest of the country, while also allowing freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. All states are the same, and shouldn’t have any say so about how they’re run, right?
July 16, 2021 @ 6:02 pm
That is the most tired and overused argument and it has been proven wrong multiple times by multiple other countries. And I refuse to take the time to give any more of a response to someone who continues to use such a blatantly false narrative as their argument.
It’s fallacious and you know it.
July 16, 2021 @ 11:26 pm
Cobra – Other countries are not the United States. Which gun laws would you like to enact? Would they include confiscation of currently owned weapons? There are over 300 million legally owned guns in this country. Only the smallest percentage of which are ever used in a crime. Do you know why mass murderers shoot up certain places? Because they know that people are not armed at those places. Schools are easy targets. The guy who shot up the Pulse nightclub in Orlando was originally going to shoot up Disney World, but there were too many armed security guards in the park. That piece of garbage who shot up the black church in South Carolina? People don’t typically take guns to church. As long as people can be armed wherever and whenever they wish to be, they can defend themselves and others from the aberrant outliers who do not obey any laws that the vast majority of citizens follow. There are thousands and thousands of gun laws throughout the U.S. if you include federal, state, county, city, school board, and what have you, and they are always being broken. What further laws that could be passed would prevent that small percentage of violent criminals from using guns illegally?
July 16, 2021 @ 2:31 pm
You’re on idiot. All restrictive gun laws do is hurt the law abiding citizens. Those cities with the stricter gun laws have the highest murder rates. You are an idiot.
July 16, 2021 @ 6:01 pm
That is the most tired and overused argument and it has been proven wrong multiple times by multiple other countries. And I refuse to take the time to give any more of a response to someone who continues to use such a blatantly false narrative as their argument.
It’s fallacious and you know it.
November 12, 2021 @ 6:39 pm
Oh Lord don’t even try to reply with logic. Cobra has already proven he is immune to it.
February 18, 2022 @ 10:43 pm
Wonder what they’ll have to say about Kid Rocks new song (We the people) that spells out how the majority of real working class Americans feel as well. I don’t listen to sellout musicians who have no sense of reality that the rest of us have to live. Bottom line is there’s a lot of fed up folks! Who are you more afraid of a fight with Kid Rock and Aaron Lewis and their fan base, or sellouts that live in a bubble and have no sense of the real world like Brad Paisley and Springsteen….????
July 15, 2021 @ 4:59 pm
Typical Democrat response. Great song Arron Lewis!
July 15, 2021 @ 5:59 pm
And by “typical Democrat response,” you maid based in logic and fact.
July 16, 2021 @ 5:25 pm
It’s number one for a reason. Apparently struck a cord with a lot of people. If you don’t like it your definitely in the minority and can listen to Born in the USA and no one will fault you if that’s your thing. I for one can’t watch the news without saying WTF at my TV…
July 15, 2021 @ 8:24 pm
Spreading made up nonsense in the comments section you are.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:06 pm
The fact that a person is called a liar full of BS and woke but is only triggered by woke is telling. Social justice warriors are so proud and determined to be woke that truth is secondary. At least you own it. Conservatives may not be the silent majority but they are still silent equals. You can dissect it all you want but what this song is saying is that the bear is is tired of getting poked and it is resonating. As far as Springsteen goes yes he did have some good songs many years ago but so did David Allan Coe, he is definitely not the only one who thinks they are both pieces of shat.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:07 pm
Specifically regarding statues. I am actually against tearing down statues or rather the destruction of them. That is covering up and hiding the very history we are supposed to be addressing.
Example: Germany didn’t pave over Auschwitz it is there as a reminder and a history lesson. In fact much of Europe has statues and monuments to right assholes and such and it seems the people understand who they are and why those monuments should remain.
But the US has so much damn guilt and shame that it can’t face it own past head on. IN my own damn state we have the CA Mission, which were basically religious torture camps but now are seen a beautiful buildings to get married in. That not the take these monuments should be giving people.
At the very least I think these statues should be in a museum, where we can show kids and say, “Now, don’t be like this asshole.”
July 16, 2021 @ 7:51 am
I think this is a good point. I do see issues with glorifying past tyrants or people we probably shouldn’t. But erasing the past is dooming to repeat it. Germany’s atrocities were much more recent, and much more grave than America’s. Yet somehow Germany and the rest of the world has moved on, while American can never atone for the sin of slavery—which every Western European nation also participated in.
July 16, 2021 @ 10:44 am
Because race baiters won’t let it die. It is their way to remake America in their horrible image. Truth is, those people don’t want peace among the race because then people of all stripes will see their power grab for what it is.
In order to make America into their Marxist freakshow, they have to keep pushing ancient sins.
October 13, 2021 @ 12:49 pm
The first time I heard his song a few months ago, sent it out to just about everyone I know. He is RIGHT ON ! And now with the video as a backdrop, it is even more powerful and clearly states what the silent majority needs to hear. They are becoming silent no more. GO AARON!!!
July 18, 2021 @ 8:13 pm
yea this lewis guy is so edgy, blaming “libtards” for everything. I cant find a difference between liberals and CONservatives. Those fox news assholes are all about protecting the sanctity of gay marriage, but beastiality is just too far. Conservatives are just liberals going tthe speed limit. aaron lewis is a clown!
July 20, 2021 @ 5:11 pm
Lol, He is not the only one who stopped singing along with that libtard Springsteen! I love how this song triggers people like you! People who have no tolerance for others views! Go to your safe space snowflake!!
July 21, 2021 @ 11:57 am
You have a real problem with reality sir! Your view is so contorted it’s hard to even stay on track with your thoughts. Take away guns? Are you insane? So only thugs have guns? NOT in my house. I’ll protect and defend my family and property from criminals, it’s my given right. If only thugs have guns you might as well hand over everything to them because you have no way to defend yourself or your kids. Good Luck with your contorted thoughts!
June 19, 2024 @ 12:07 am
Wow!!! I don’t believe I have read a more ignorant response in my life!!! You do realize a gun is an object and the only way that object can be put to use, is at the mind of the person holding the object!!! My son has been shooting since he was 11 y/o. Top shooter now in the military.
You talk about protecting your children but politically defend a side that is literally TARGETING your children!!! Normalizing mental health, opening borders making it easier to human traffic your children. You leftist are the number one reason our children are NOT safe!!!! Can’t afford the American dream anymore, broken homes, fewer family values and ripping god and country from our homes.
I am with Aaron Lewis. At his recent concert that I attended, I loved the fact that we stood and chanted the “ pledge of allegiance “ god bless America and those willing to fight for it.
You criticize Aaron for writing a song that so many Americans are already thinking!!!!!
July 15, 2021 @ 9:26 am
I’ll stick to Dierks Bentley “Am I the only one” thank you very much lol
July 15, 2021 @ 9:30 am
I like some of his music but he has always had a martyr complex.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:40 am
Re Springsteen–Not singing along is not the same as not listening.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:24 am
Also Springsteen as your go to bad liberal or whatever is dumb mostly cause he’s so bulletproof as an obviously great artist that Lewis could only dream of being but also it’s so 2004. Like at least be mad at someone defining themselves in the politics of this era like sturgill or Isbell
July 21, 2021 @ 11:58 am
????
November 12, 2021 @ 6:43 pm
Exactly; this is one of the powerful elements of the song, the speaker is not public all lashing out or complaining, but is sharing a private feeling – that he can no longer enjoy what used to be a pleasant experience
July 15, 2021 @ 9:48 am
I think the biggest issue here is Aaron Lewis who just has never made good music? Like isn’t Staind a punchline for a specific type of awful music tjag used to be popular? And his country music has always been the worst. Like maybe it’s just me but I’ve always found him viscerally unpleasant.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:21 am
He also has a long track record of repeatedly walking off the stage in a rage. #RageQuit
July 21, 2021 @ 12:03 pm
It’s about the SONG NOT the artist!
July 15, 2021 @ 1:39 pm
I agree. You know his ‘arguably’ biggest song is about sodomy? And not the oral kind. True story. Mudshovel.
July 16, 2021 @ 1:19 pm
An open letter to Aaron Lewis:
Are you the only one? What freedoms have you lost? What rights have been taken from You?
You have the right to free speech. You can peddle your hate-filled, white supremacist rhetoric to make money, just like people who write articles, songs, speeches, and letters about equality and love is love.
You have the right to own the gun you so proudly flaunt – and to ‘pick it up’ to defend your country. So, go ahead and enlist in the military! You have that freedom, just don’t be surprised when others in your unit look, believe, or feel differently than you, but are actually willing to die for our country and have your back in battle.
You have the freedom to a trial by a jury of your peers and a judge to pass sentence. That means to not have police gun you down in your bed, while you go for a jog, pull out your wallet, or buy candy at the local store.
You have the freedom to sing music that incites violence and not have someone kneel on your neck for twice the length of that song, making your child fatherless.
You have the right to an education, whether or not you choose to learn the truth about the history of your music’s origins or how your state and your government were actually built.
You have the freedom to vote for anyone you choose. Nobody gets in the way or makes it more difficult (or impossible) for you to vote for someone who won’t pay his employees (like construction workers, cooks, maids, or office workers) their wages, but declares bankruptcy 3 times instead; who refuses to allow housing to some Americans, but employs the ‘illegal’ ones he despises on those properties; or who cons people into buying college credits, airplane tickets, or steak without safely providing them with what they paid for.
You have the right to gather peacefully and protest with like-minded individuals without being run down by a speeding car or tear gassed by the military. Or without your pregnant wife, mother, sister, or girlfriend getting shoved to the ground and beaten on the head just for standing in such a group.
So tell me … are you the only one who feels your freedoms are being taken away? Which ones? Doesn’t our Constitution say ALL men are created equal? There’s no amendment saying that some are more equal than others.
As for singing along to a Springsteen song, you have the right not to. But you DON’T have the right to stop those of us who do – especially songs of veterans being treated with respect, the working class and poor getting a fair shake, first responders like on 9/11 being heroes, and America being a place of opportunity and equality for EVERYONE.
And you have the freedom to run your mouth – just like me and the millions of women, people of color, LGBTQ identifiers and allies, Christians, Muslims, Catholics, Buddhists, and all of the other true Americans who think you’re a racist, entitled prick just trying to make money and get attention.
Sincerely,
The millions who aren’t the ‘only ones’
July 19, 2021 @ 8:20 pm
Someone sounds a little ticked the song is so popular????
July 20, 2021 @ 9:39 am
God, for a site and an audience that so often champions not assuming “popular” is the equivalent of “good,” all of a sudden, there sure are a lot of people here going on about how “popular” this song is.
It’s almost like you just like it because it conforms to your inbred redneck mindsets.
July 27, 2022 @ 3:57 pm
Autism is a defining trait of Trump supporters
July 15, 2021 @ 9:53 am
I love it. Liberal artists get to pontificate in their songs, so conservative artists should be able to do the same.
July 15, 2021 @ 8:57 pm
Yeah, and liberal artists get lambasted by conservatives all the time for it. So…. What? Do they have to shut up when a conservative (?) speaks the “truth”? I use the term conservative very loosely now, because it’s just not the right term for the batshit crazy that the GOP has embraced in the last 5 years.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:05 am
I f&*#%$# love this article. Perfectly stated. This is why I keep coming back to Saving Country Music. Trigger, don’t ever change.
But this may be a new all-time favorite paragraph:
“..take from it what you will, and we’ll all retire to our respective corners, and the culture war that’s meant to distract us all from the fact that the affluent and elite are fleecing the rest of us will continue on since we’re so angry at each other over statues nobody cared enough clean the bird shit off until someone threatened to tear it down, and jingoistic country songs from former rock stars, we ignore the fact that the corporate and political plutocracy soldiers on, and the rich eat you.”
July 15, 2021 @ 10:21 am
The Cracker album Berkeley to Bakersfield is basically a concept album about exactly this paragraph and it’s good
July 15, 2021 @ 2:49 pm
Great fucking album. “Almond Grove” is still a favorite of mine.
July 15, 2021 @ 5:03 pm
You hit the nail on the head.
So did Trig.
The “other” Chris
July 15, 2021 @ 10:05 am
makes me proud of Limp Bizkit,Korn, and Deftones for not taking the low hanging fruit of red state politics AND not pandering by switching to country for it’s easy gullible fan base
July 15, 2021 @ 11:05 am
I mean….the Deftones are actually good. Lumping them in with Limp Bizkit and Korn seems like an unfair association, considering the latter 2 bands are objectively bad and the only people who still listen to them are 40-something year old white guys who just decided that 15 was as good of an age as any to just stop consuming new music.
July 15, 2021 @ 12:08 pm
What’s with the gatekeeping dude? I ain’t a fan of Limp Bizkit either, but you’re having a boomer moment right now. Like or not, all three of those bands have heavily influenced modern genres of music. Especially Korn and Deftones.
July 15, 2021 @ 12:10 pm
I’m sorry, but “being proud” of an artist for their beliefs, regardless of what they are, seems silly to me.
July 15, 2021 @ 4:39 pm
Not so fast. Deftones’ lead guitarist is on record as an anti-vaxxer and flat earther. No joke. I don’t necessarily care, but it’s a little disappointing. Can’t help dumb people.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:08 am
The title and refrain are stupid. It is quite clear he is not the only one. If anyone sharing the sentiments he expresses feels alone in their beliefs, they must not have internet access.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:08 am
Amazing article Trigger.
I wish every American would read its concluding paragraphs.
Sorry I have nothing conservative or liberal to say.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:12 am
Yeah No. This is one of those rhetorical ideas that starts with “this is what the other side is doing to us” even though they aren’t and its anecdotal at best, and then goes on to present another non-existent view about what you should do to “fight against them.” Two guns down, Strong 2/10, Bad Bad Not Good Bad.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:13 am
David Allen Coe rolls his eyes when he hears about Aaron Lewis’ new song, and thinks to himself, “Thank goodness when I put together Rebel Meets Rebel, it was with the true metal dudes from Pantera, and not wussy poseurs like Aaron Lewis in Staind.”
July 15, 2021 @ 11:13 am
It’s “ David Allan Coe”
July 15, 2021 @ 11:39 am
autocorrect on one’s phone is the most unamerican thing, justin c
July 15, 2021 @ 1:50 pm
Listening to Rebel Meets Rebel is like watching Tenacious DH’s Pick of Destiny. You know that, objectively, the final product isn’t very good but it’s fun as hell to consume bc the involved parties had obvious great times making them.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:15 am
I moderately like Aaron Lewis’s country music but he’s not known for nuance, Plus the Springsteen reference is a total lack of style.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:25 am
all I would add to your thoughtful and through review , Trigger , is how refreshing it is to hear some passion and conviction in a song that’s actually ABOUT something amidst all of the drivel and bro/boyfriend/cliche-riddled generic crap we’re otherwise subjected to by mainstream ‘country’ .
July 15, 2021 @ 10:27 am
This song is just as irritating as Alan Jackson’s, “Back.”
Jackson & Lewis need a massive ego check.
Give me Merle Haggard’s “The Fightin’ Side Of Me,” anyday.
https://youtu.be/bqAe5Jt9y4c
July 15, 2021 @ 11:25 am
At least Jackson has earned his crotchety-old-man status. He’s like my combat veteran grandfather; yeah he rambles and is kinda racist and curt but he’s old and life was different in his day and he is a badass who paid his dues, so you just kinda let it go. Aaron Lewis does not have this luxury.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:45 am
Understand & appreciate what you are saying.
The problem i have with both of these guys, is their intentional, “I’m going to save this,” attitude. Nothing wrong with that in general – but when it comes down to Hey, “I’m The Saviour,” that’s when it gets ridiculous.
There have always been stellar musicians locally, regionally, worldwide.
They need to reign it in.
And Lewis needs not to include the word fuck into his recorded songs.
I know most of us throw that word around on occasion, but this was not the place.
Appreciate how respectfully Haggard got his point across.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:37 am
Born in the USA is almost 40 years old and a) people still don’t understand the song b) people still complain about Springsteen suddenly getting political. Lol.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:44 am
I have zero issues with song, why because of freedom. He is expressing like it or not a widely held viewpoint shared by millions. Hence the song’s growing popularity. Folks don’t have to agree with the songs viewpoint but they shouldn’t be butt hurt by it either. What happened to free speech and expression without folks freaking out? Artists calling things as they see them is a good thing in a free society! We should all agree with that no matter our political leanings.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:48 am
So what’s your take on Springsteen then? He is expressing like it or not a widely held viewpoint shared by millions.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:45 am
This song is butts!!!
July 15, 2021 @ 10:57 am
So, full disclosure: I’m pretty apolitical. I legitimately don’t understand how people can lump themselves so fiercely in either political party’s camp, when both sides have shown they don’t give a crap about 99% of America and in my experience, life is filled with shades of gray, something adhering to either political philosophy makes difficult. For instance, I generally don’t believe in corporate welfare and business subsidies, but understand that without them, quality rural broadband will likely never be a reality for many parts of the US. And so on….
My issue with this song is the idea that somehow Aaron Lewis’ viewpoint is marginalized. Because, I just don’t know if the facts really bear that out. Fox News remains one of, if not the highest rated networks on all of television. Sinclair Broadcasting owns the majority of local news stations, NewsMax and OAN are consistently 2 of the most popular news streaming services. Conservative talk radio lashes (ratings wise) any “liberal” equivalent. Yes, there are issues surrounding social media representation, but that is more a flaw of Facebook and Twitter just basically being poorly run companies and platforms.
The reason this song sucks is 2-fold. 1. Aaron Lewis has never been a particularly good songwriter. Even his faux-Outlaw Country stuff has about as much subtlety to it as a 10-ton brick. So tackling a subject that is inherently filled with shades of gray, is it any wonder it struggles? And 2. The cynic in me can’t help but wonder if the only reason this song exists is because there is money to be made by appealing to this lowest common denominator culturally of “us vs. them”. Aaron Lewis hasn’t had a hit in a long time, Staind hasn’t been relevant in over a decade, and Lewis knew full well that a song with this kind of message could only be played in the Country genre. Much like how Clay Travis and Jason Whitlock has repeatedly used athletes talking social issues, something that has been happening for the better part of 5 decades now, to promote their careers, I can’t help but cynically view this as Aaron Lewis desperately trying to keep a fading solo career from drying up like his faux-metal band has.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:16 pm
You’re certainly right when it comes to media. There are ample outlets with a right-leaning perspective. But in cohabited spaces such as social media, entertainment, workplaces and corporate life, sharing right-leaning opinions can sometimes be frowned upon, or could get you removed or fired. That said, certain perspectives probably do deserve to be pushed to the fringes, just not all the ones that are. The proliferation of right-leaning media is very much a symptom of its elimination of representation in popular culture elsewhere.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:28 pm
Has it really been eliminated though? I mean, I think it’s pretty clear the reason Facebook has avoided cracking down on Conservatism (even though anytime someone gets banned they claim that to be the case) is because Facebook’s user base consists of a lot of conservatives who spend a LOT of time on the platform. Country music, very much a strongly conservative leaning genre, remains one of the most popular genres in pop culture. Sinclair runs the majority of local news stations. Churches still rake in massive gobs of cash in spite of numerous scandals. Republicans hold the majority of state executive offices and legislators.
I’m not disagreeing that there is a sickness of “cancel culture” in liberal America that is awful, but I just don’t see the idea that conservative ideas are now the minority and are shunned socially as really aligning with reality. It feels like the classic case of political messaging that has been working for decades now that somehow continues to be repeated as being an absolute fact….when it’s a lot murkier than that.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:49 pm
I certainly think Aaron Lewis and others are making too much about having their ideas cancelled or censored. Everybody wants to be a victim these days, and as I said in the review, the whining takes away from this song. Overall, Freedom of Speech is still the law of the land. But some high-profile incidents such as throwing Donald Trump and other conservatives off of social media, the censoring of the Hunter Biden laptop story, the censoring on Facebook and YouTube of the lab leak theory that is now the prevailing theory on COVID origination have given the right ample ammunition to claim they’re not being dealt with an equal hand. Of course, there are also examples on the left as well. But I even see it here. Folks on the right tend to complain about folks on the left. Folks on the left tend to complain folks on the right are being allowed to comment at all.
July 17, 2021 @ 4:04 pm
Whoa. You’re packing a lot of supposition in there. First of all, as a member of the media (by virtue of running a website) it would benefit you to learn to definition of “censorship.” Actual censorship is something done by governments; that’s all the First Amendment addresses. Private companies like Facebook and Twitter have zero obligation to give me or anyone else a platform — especially if I continually violate the Terms of Service that I voluntarily agreed to when I voluntarily signed up to use their service.
THAT is why Trump et al was thrown off Twitter and Facebook: He continually violated the Terms of Service that HE agreed to. If I violated the terms and/or spread misinformation, I’d get thrown off, too. If you, as the owner of SCM, chose not to publish this comment, it would not be “censorship.” It would be a business decision by a private business.
And how has Hunter Biden’s laptop story been “censored”? I’ve read about it in plenty of places. Maybe it isn’t in the news 24/7 because reputable news organizations have looked into it and found nothing there.
Similarly, the COVID “lab leak” theory story has not been censored; again, I’ve read about it. And a major correction here — it is NOT the leading theory for how the virus was created. It is among the theories, but the only ones claiming it is the “leading” theory are conservative media outlets — and they have no proof. But it does fit their anti-China agenda.
Beyond that, Lewis’ catalog of faux beefs with words that rhyme isn’t that well written. He and his fellow Trumpers are just sore losers who long for a backwards social order that cannot and should not exist in 2021.
July 17, 2021 @ 11:15 pm
Oh great, a semantics argument.
Yes, I know the differences between governmental censorship, and censorship in the private sector. But there is clearly a debate going on about the power of big tech, whether formats such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google constitute either public utilities since they comprise the town square, or if they’re monopolies, and the legalities surrounding them not allowing certain individuals or ideas on their formats.
And yes, the lab leak theory was censored on Facebook. And yes, it is now considered the prevailing origination point of COVID. This is not right wing propaganda. The Biden Administration is very concerned about this, while the zoonotic never held much water and continues to lose support by the day.
July 18, 2021 @ 1:00 am
It is hardly a “semantics” argument when we’re dealing with the actual definition of words. “Censorship” is something reserved for governments, and it is the only thing the First Amendment applies to.
But your contention that a private corporation has an obligation to act in the *public* interest is an interesting one, especially since conservatives have spent the last century telling us a private corporation’s only obligations are fiduciary in nature. They have maintained (and codified into U.S. law) that a corporation’s ONLY duty is to make a return for investors.
But now you are saying companies like Facebook and Twitter a) have no right to promulgate guidelines (i.e., “Terms of Service”) governing how people use the company’s service and b) have no right to enforce the very Terms of Service Trump and all the rest of us voluntarily agreed to when we signed up to use the service. You keep acting as if Trump et al were not allowed on their formats. They were. But they continually broke the rules they agreed to abide by, so the private company did exactly what it said it would do — namely, bar them from using the service. Trump is just stinging because he’s spent a consequence-free life for his actions, so naturally it hurt when somebody actually enforced a consequence on him.
As a result, Trump was free to launch his own service. He did. It crashed and burned. That’s how the marketplace works. Consumers had choices, and they chose not to use Trump’s website.
Let’s say I subscribe to my local newspaper. I write a letter to the editor of the paper. The newspaper, for whatever reason, doesn’t publish it. You’re now saying I have some right to have my letter published? Who do I take my complaint to? Who should force the newspaper to run the letter? The government? Do we really want the government telling a newspaper (or a broadcast entity, a website or a private corporation like Facebook) what it can or can’t publish or broadcast?
That’s an odd look on conservatives.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:07 pm
I’d love for you (and anyone else claiming “cancel” culture) to provide real examples of liberal censorship or whatever the latest bogeyman is.
Look- I don’t like voices being silenced, and I gave 24 years of my life supporting and defending the *whole* constitution. The big social media companies have every right to throw someone off their platform, for any reason. They are not subject to freedom of speech requirements.
I think it’s actually publicly traded companies finally- FINALLY saying, dang, having people just saying total ASSHOLE things on our site are bad for business. Stoking people to do things that are completely out of character of our nation…. maybe we should just let those people find their own rat hole in this rat hole of an internet.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:30 pm
Well, I think censoring the sitting President and throwing them off their formats is a pretty big example, though it’s one I’m sure many could justify.
Another more recent one was the censoring of any posts on Facebook that forwarded the lab leak theory on COVID. It was considered racist, and medical misinformation. Today, it’s considered by most as the most health experts as the probable origin of COVID-19. You would think we could discuss something that has killed 4 million people and turned the world economy upside down on social media without being censored.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:22 pm
Dude,
The right wing view is completely marginalized. You basically listed the only right wing networks. Good luck seeing any of the national mainstream (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc) play fair.
“But what about Fox News??”
What about it? It is the one island in a sea of liberalism.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:38 pm
Just not true. I’m not going to go down this road since, bluntly, I don’t have the patience for it. But I listed way more than just Fox News as proof it’s more than one island in the supposed “sea of liberalism”.
July 16, 2021 @ 10:45 am
“Don’t have the patience for it.”
Beta response. Tapout accepted.
July 21, 2021 @ 12:22 pm
Aaron never claimed to have written this song. I have never heard of him before but maybe he sings this song bc this is how he feels along with LOTS of other people. You don’t have to like it, turn if off. The 1st amendment allows us to speak our own truth. You need not agree with any of it, that’s your given right. I personally feel our country is going downhill quickly and turning into something true Americans will not like. Our freedoms are being taken away on a daily basis. Soon America will no longer be a free country. The damage is done. Mandating things is not Freedom. Choice is freedom. Next thing we’ll be told what to eat, what to wear, what to believe in etc. Your freedom to choose anything is withering away.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:58 am
In my opinion a great message, well written and spot on. Aaron Lewis is not the only one, there are millions of us shaking our heads as we watch the TV news. Like Trigger said he “hits the nail on the head” of those emotions.
It would be nice if music and politics didn’t mix, but they always have and always will. I try to appreciate good music for the sake of the music. My politics, as you have probably already guessed, are bright red conservative but I still enjoy listening to my beloved Drive By Truckers who are way left liberal now.
Thanks, Trigger, for writing thought provoking articles, exposing us to new artists and celebrating and honoring the classics.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:05 am
Haven’t even sat and listened to it carefully but I’ll take your word for it that it’s as flawed as you say. That said, you hit the nail on the head in regards to why this will resonate with so many people.
Our mainstream “acceptable” culture and discussion is so dumbed down, elitist, extremist, and out of sync with such a large portion of our population, that this pushback is inevitable. And though I may not 100% agree with it, I completely welcome and respect it.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:06 am
Who is actually fighting for ordinary working folks? Not MAGA, sorry. Here’s the red pill the Aaron Lewis’s of the world need to swallow: it’s the Bernie/AOC wing that are actually fighting for working people.
And at the end of the day, that’s mostly what politics is about. Which faction is going to put the most cash in my pocket? I’m a wage earner – the working class. I know the answer and it’s not the party led by a guy who sh*ts in a gold toilet bowl. Wake up.
All this nonsense about wedding cakes and trans people playing field hockey are just trying to distract you from how you’re getting robbed while the rich get richer. Most of the some nonsense is coming from the Hillary wing not the Bernie wing by the way. They’re in on it too.
Working people need to wake up.
July 15, 2021 @ 12:38 pm
Is that how you decide which party / candidate gets your vote, who gives you the most money? Ive heard some smart person, some time ago attributed to saying something like “when the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” Not trying to be flippant, genuinely interested. Agree with you on working people needing to wake up and getting robbed while the rich get richer. Disagree on Bernie / AOC, both cancer to a functional host society IMO. I suspect I’m not alone in saying that for a lot of citizens life is more an issue of being respected, keeping the majority of what they earn, being safe, living as they choose so long as it doesn’t infringe on others and generally just being left the hell alone. Maybe that dog whistle has deafened me….
July 15, 2021 @ 1:34 pm
I mean, it’s sort of ironic you brought up those last couple things when much of what the Aaron Lewis’ of the world are most upset about, goes against that very idea of “Government – leave me alone”. See some states clutching their pearls while they try to ban trans people from track and field or whatever the religious right is upset about today.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:07 pm
Seems to me there is a pretty wide variety of people who don’t agree with what you’re trying to blame on republicans, including a lot of feminists. This right here illuminates part of the problem. According to Gallup in 2021, 62% of people polled don’t agree with Trans athletes playing on teams that don’t match their birth gender, including 41% of Democrats,. But they aren’t even allowed to voice their “counterpoint,” as Trigger called it here in this article. I personally don’t really care, but trying to shut down the voice of that many people, whether you agree with them or not, is eventually going to have some pretty understandable blowback. Whether or not I agree with this song, it’s hardly surprising that it’s resonating with many. Nor is it surprising that the hard partisans are so triggered by it.
July 15, 2021 @ 1:46 pm
Of course there are other issues, but in my experience the it’s the “kitchen table” that matters most to working people. If you can’t pay your bills or you’re bankrupted by the health care system that’s going to be your focus, not some 21 year old wanna be commie burning a flag or somebody on either side throwing a tantrum over a wedding cake.
And trust me, the wealthy vote with their wallets. Why shouldn’t working people do the same?
July 15, 2021 @ 2:39 pm
I’d also add that I like where you’re coming from. Those are good values you listed. When I say “who’s going to put the most cash in my pocket?” I don’t necessarily mean handouts. It could be in the form of more good paying jobs or tax cuts for *ordinary* people. But the government isn’t likely to stop taxing us any time soon. So we might as well fight to benefit from our taxes.
Anyway, this probably isn’t the place to have this discussion. A pub is probably best.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:56 pm
No politics in the bar man! But I would be happy to BS with you about good beer and good music. Have a good one.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:41 pm
Fair enough and good point on the kitchen table. Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective, I’ve always figured I’m not entitled to anything but in this country if you keep trying, outwork your peers, maximize flexibility and be willing to give up some inessentials at some point you’ll make it and be ok. Always under no illusion that maybe you won’t, life sucks, keep working. Fight or flight needs to be in play; freedom and safety are an inverse relationship. Safety nets turn to generational prisons from what I’ve seen and are better left as a final option. As for the wanna-be commies maybe I’m just overly sensitive but damn if lack of historical perspective isnt disturbing.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:06 pm
How is the “Let everyone the country in with no questions asked” crowd, or Bernie camp helping the working man? Before you accuse me of being some rich asshole I’m anything but. However I’ve lived in rural PA my whole life and watched many jobs once held by poor whites taken over by Latinos. It used to be a summer job was milking cows, now good luck finding that or anything to start out on because Latinos have taken almost all those jobs.
Ok that’s a bit of a rant, sorry. I have watched interviews with Bernie and will say this. He does seem genuinely concerned about people’s well-being, albeit I believe his methods of fixing problems are wrong. I’ve known Canadians who have told me their universal health care is terrible and as a veteran who gets “free” healthcare from the VA I can concurs free healthcare is never high quality. I’m not trying to come at you hostile though so please don’t read this as a angry conservative ranting, more as a guy who is frustrated.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:15 pm
It’s a case of the snake eating its own tail. The reality is many of the “poor whites” that once worked the jobs you talk of have aged out of the workforce or have mental, physical, or substance abuse issues which make them – bluntly – terrible employees. Now, the comeback too that is that if those jobs paid more, more white people would work them. But, if you ask farmers they will tell you they can offer $20/hr w/benefits in some areas and can’t get white people to apply since the work is so labor intensive (and the hours often long).
Now, we could push for better farm wages which might improve things and get more white people to take those jobs….but it turns out Americans really love CHEAP food. And you can’t have $2 cheeseburgers at McDonalds if you are paying field labor $20/hr.
I live and work in the rural midwest and I hear these types of comments all the time. The sad reality is that white people are not making these farm communities viable again, because the white people left are either nearing or at retirement age and the kids have fled to the ‘burbs where the jobs are. The people actually starting businesses in these small farming communities are immigrants. The 5 young white people left are either spaced out due to substance abuse issues or seem to believe that having no work ethic, no appreciable skills, etc. should mean they deserve to earn $25/hr or they want to be a YouTuber – not a farmer or working construction.
July 16, 2021 @ 10:47 am
Bernie isn’t genuinely concerned about anything but forcing his idiotic views on Americans. He is a tyrant. Don’t be fooled.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:51 pm
Although I agree with some of what you’re saying (the uniparty), I think expecting bernie and aoc to ride into town on a white horse to save the working class takes away from that. Bernie is an old man still dreaming of becoming the first president of the USSA and aoc, well, has she recovered from that near-death experience yet?
July 15, 2021 @ 11:08 am
I don’t care much for blatantly political songs whether I agree or not. They just don’t have much replay value.
That said, Aaron Lewis is the only concert I have ever left early from. Between the Pledge at the beginning of the show to the political commentary in between songs, it felt like a Trump rally (this was before the election and Covid). Which hey, if that’s your thing, Godspeed. Aaron is certainly free to present a show like that and I am free to go home early. Right or wrong, everyone is entitled to their opinion and the potential consequences that go with. I’ll choose not to listen to this song or his others. I’m sure he is crushed, but there are about a million other songs I can listen too. Just not enough hours in the day to take them all in.
Like others have said, Trig hit the nail on the head. The real problem is the rich keeping us divided while they plunder.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:38 am
Looking forward to his follow up collaboration with Melissa Etheridge to answer the question!
(Thought this thread needed a dad joke to lighten the mood)
July 15, 2021 @ 12:21 pm
Oh, you win. 😀
July 15, 2021 @ 11:45 am
I missed it. Why are we assuming Alan Jackson is kinda racist l?
July 15, 2021 @ 11:48 am
I don’t care about the politics of a song even if it presents beliefs antithetical to my own as long as the song is good. “Smoke in a Bar” from Travis Tritt’s new album was great even though it leans into the “back in my day” trope a bit too hard. This song, however, is awful. Reminds me of the Family Guy episode when Louis runs for mayor and realizes the best way to get votes is to appeal to people’s deepest insecurities in simple language. The problem with this song and pretty much every song by Aaron Lewis is that the lyrics are always on the nose. No nuance, no poetry, no clever turns of phase. It’s just preaching to the converted. It’s not challenging or enjoyable. But that’s just my take.
July 15, 2021 @ 3:46 pm
Good call on Smoke in a Bar. I like Travis Tritt even though I don’t share his politics. I can listen to something like Smoke in a Bar and understand where he’s coming from. And it’s a well-written song, unlike this one.
July 15, 2021 @ 12:11 pm
“Am I the only one” who doesn’t like Aaron Lewis all that much, who doesn’t think this song is so good, but also thinks the people bashing it without even a little bit of understanding, are even worse and part of the problem?
July 15, 2021 @ 12:19 pm
Good article. One of your best. However, I think starting and ending the piece by saying the song is first and foremost a passionate work of art expressing a true human emotion that is worthy of the attention it’s receiving gave away your bias a little. I agree that the song’s perspective is genuine and likely deserving of attention (given millions of people garner similar feelings). However, I think the tribalist sentiment and hypocritical ideas in the song outweigh any merit it might have, and I think that should’ve been the song’s first and foremost description: a poorly executed, poorly written, and misguided song that ultimately reflects a true emotion felt by many in society.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:20 pm
What I was trying to do there was explain why this song is resonating with people so much. I do think he brought a lot of passion to this and it comes through. But that’s just as much an observation as it is praise.
July 20, 2021 @ 5:46 am
Definitely not the “healing, come together” song I was hoping for from Aaron.
July 15, 2021 @ 12:29 pm
Springsteen is a douche.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:40 pm
This is 100% correct.
July 15, 2021 @ 12:32 pm
Gonna need to fix up another batch of popcorn.
July 15, 2021 @ 1:46 pm
Bust out laughing everytime you trot this out.
: D
July 15, 2021 @ 1:08 pm
A buddy of mine texted me and asked if I had heard it, my reply works here as well:
I have. While I get the sentiment, I think it’s weak generic writing, going for the lowest denominator. Reminds of songs by the current Ronnie Van Zant-less Skynyrd.He’s (Aaron Lewis) been hit and miss for me; I like some of his stuff, and some of it is just formulaic.
July 15, 2021 @ 1:17 pm
Beholden to a traitorous government that only existed for four years. Fuck this piece of shit.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:08 pm
Traitorous?
How? Maybe to the forces of globalism but Trump was the first president in a long time to actually put America’s interests first. Unlike Biden who just invited the UN in to criticize America and allows illegal immigrants to cross the border.
Trump was only traitorous to whose hate America.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:20 pm
I was referring to the CSA, but you do you and keep on worshipping hate.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:27 pm
Four years could have easily referred to Trump. Be specific.
Worship hate? Wanting to see my country’s interests being put first is not hate at all.
As a noted history professor I regularly chat with says, the Confederacy by attempting to declare independence were following in the footsteps of the American colonies. It amuses me how secession was OK for the 13 Colonies but it has become wrong ever since for any state or individual to consider. (See when Texas discusses it). I have no problem if a state wishes to leave the Union. It is their right. To deny so is hypocrisy by America. We were founded by secession.
July 15, 2021 @ 5:00 pm
I don’t know that secession was such a wise move for the 13 colonies, actually. The British loyalists all fled to Canada, which is still part of the Commonwealth today, and overall your average Canadian is doing much better than your average US citizen. Arguably slavery would’ve ended sooner too, if the colonies had stayed loyal.
It’s not a perspective you hear very often because most of us are educated in US school systems, but objectively speaking I think one could argue we shouldn’t have done it.
July 16, 2021 @ 6:22 am
that’s one of the best self aware wolves situations i’ve ever seen. he’s clearly talking about the confederacy and yet you hear ‘traitor’ and your mind goes straight to trump even though you’re MAGA through and through. incredible.
July 16, 2021 @ 10:50 am
Punctuation. Invest in it.
What the hell is a self aware wolf situation? Sounds like a term that stupid people think is clever.
Point is clear. He wasn’t specific. My response was logical and reasonable. Unfortunately, logic and reason are not the strong suit of liberals.
July 15, 2021 @ 1:41 pm
Springsteen sucks. He is a liberal douche…but I repeat myself.
What really sucks is so many in the music industry are American-hating liberal douches just like BS.
In 20 years or so, you people will look back and wonder what happened. We old timers will tell you….you actively worked against the country.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:22 pm
I’m an America loving liberal douche. What if you changed that one word and reframed your arguments against the reality of what liberals are really trying to accomplish. Would it cut so deep then? Would recognizing that our country is flawed, and that loving it and recognizing it’s flaws need not be co-dependent hurt so bad?
July 15, 2021 @ 1:43 pm
If you played this for me without context I’d assume it was satire and thus brilliant.
As is there are songs that meditate on similar themes and do it well with nuance, Whiskey Meyers’ Ballad of a Southern Man comes to mind. I disagree with many of the sentiments in the song, but it’s a good song with a point of view presented in a way in which I have to consider it rather than dismissing it off-hand and inane.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:11 pm
That song is funny when he says “pledge my allegiance the original way” misunderstanding that the pledge now says under God but it didn’t the original way. And yes it’s still a good song
July 15, 2021 @ 2:11 pm
It is worthy of Song of the Year.
Lewis, unlike the woke artists who claim to be for the little man, actually takes on the viewpoint of the “Forgotten Man” who loves his country and just wants to be left alone and not crushed by taxes.
It is nice to see a singer who sees America for the greatness that she is and not a brain-dead Marxist who wants to transform her into a failed state on the basis of proven failed policies.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:55 pm
Yes, when *will* the “forgotten man” (by which you likely mean white conservative Christian men) get a break in this country lololol
Can I get you a tissue?
July 15, 2021 @ 2:15 pm
I didn’t know Abraham Lincoln, General Grant, and Washington were Confederates.
But I guess since they were white men it is OK to knock them down.
If it is OK to knock down Confederate statues (thus committing cultural genocide, how tolerant!), does that it is OK if I knock down Indian statues. After all, they fought against America? Why is it OK for their statues to stand? They killed and tortured Americans. I guess some cultures have more privilege than others.
Frankly, I am a fan of not knocking down statues like a bunch of French revolutionaries but I also believe in proper behavior.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:17 pm
Trigger,
Love the site but the posting comments too fast alert jacked up my response. Forced an accidental double post.
Gotta fix that.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:24 pm
I thought I was quite explicit in the article saying that not all statues razings are created equal, and the destruction of Abraham Lincoln statues and others was pretty ludicrous.
As for the posting issue, I really don’t have a lot of control over that. At times the site will experience hundreds of spam comments an hour, and to keep them all down, the filter can get a little overactive. I do the best I can to make sure stuff does not get lost in the shuffle.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:28 pm
Trigger,
You were explicit. My post was intended for Cobra’s idiocy. But the site messed up and placed it down here.
You were fine.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:18 pm
Not here to defend a perception of mindset, but you’ve gotta recognize there is nuance. Those last two points don’t go against reasonable governance, but maybe a government consistently putting its nose where it doesn’t belong and using my tax dollars to stick it there. Being left alone doesn’t preclude the need government protecting us from murderers, but it probably precludes the need for government demanding I state what race I identify with when buying a box of .22 shells or for my kid getting a permit to sell lemonade on the corner.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:24 pm
I firmly believe that backwards, ignorant beliefs die in the sunlight. Which is why freedom of speech is so important. The emotional reward of “silencing” someone whose views we dont agree with comes at a much high cost. And the sentiment behind this song is that the growing movement and power behind it to censor more and more people is causing a net negative for public discourse.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:44 pm
Trig,
It started with tearing down Confederate Statues, but it quickly morphed into the BLM/Antifa/Critical Race Theory crowd simply wants to tear down all commemorations or positive refernces to anything in mainstream American history or culture: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln, TR, FDR, Lewis & Clark, the American Flag, the Star Spangled Banner–it doesn’t matter. It won’t be very long before they demand the ending–or at least, the renaming–of this country, itself. And the leaders of the Democratic party will not stand up in opposition to any of that.
July 15, 2021 @ 3:18 pm
I agree, and I think this is where this song does try to meet the moment, even if it does it clumsily. The idea that the United States is the worst nation in the world when you look at the atrocities in the history of all sorts of nations, along with present-day atrocities occurring in places like China, The Middle East, South Africa, etc., it’s ludicrous. And some of these people are totally trying to tear down every single established institution regardless of the history behind it just because they can get away with it in the current cultural environment. Aaron Lewis and everyone else should stand up against this.
July 15, 2021 @ 4:37 pm
BRAVO, Trig.
July 15, 2021 @ 6:03 pm
I find it amazing that people can so vehemently defend the American Flag while also vehemently defending the Confederate Flag and statues of those who literally fought a war against our country because of their desire to own people.
July 15, 2021 @ 2:49 pm
Never heard of this before. Just had a listen. Despite commiserating with its message on a basic level, this song is pure cringe – but what else would we expect from the founder and frontman of third-tier nu-metal band Staind? Isn’t this the guy that had a hissy fit and stormed off stage because the crowd wasn’t sufficiently quiet or attentive? Tells you something about his character and fortitude (or lack thereof).
July 15, 2021 @ 3:32 pm
Now write an article that somehow mentions all of Miranda Lambert, Sturgill Simpson, Staci Felker, Covid-19, Kane Brown, King Honky of Crackershire, and Morgan Wallen. Go on, I dare you.
July 15, 2021 @ 3:33 pm
It’s blantanly patronizing. How can Aaron Tippin sing a song on this level and it feel genuine and this be so cringeworthy? Aaron Lewis is a mentally unstable carpetbagger (1/2 Jewish descent from Vermont – I just looked him up on Wiki). Lewis and Kid Rock are two turds in a toilet bowl who do anything for attention.
July 15, 2021 @ 4:29 pm
What’s being half Jewish or being from Vermont have to do with anything?
July 15, 2021 @ 6:09 pm
He shouldn’t play country music and/or have these opinions, duh. And if he was full Jewish, Johnny Cash himself would rise from the dead to kick his ass, like he did ‘ole Zimmerman.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:31 pm
Ask Marjorie Taylor Greene. It’s the MAGA crowd he’s pandering to that will ultimately take issue with his heritage.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:45 pm
Says the only person in 129 comments to point it out while delegitimizing him.
July 16, 2021 @ 10:31 am
You meant to say “Marjorie Tater Gremlin” lol
July 15, 2021 @ 4:51 pm
Couldn’t agree more with you, Trigger. However, I haven’t heard the song, nor do I have the desire to do so. I haven’t listened to an Aaron Lewis or Staind song since 2005 (because the quality of Staind’s work went down after that). Wish him the best, but I don’t wanna listen to a grown man whine. I’ll pass.
July 15, 2021 @ 5:08 pm
Aaron Lewis used to be cool, now he just sounds like every boomer complaining on Facebook
July 15, 2021 @ 6:38 pm
Many articles are written about Sturgill here. Go to the search page.
July 15, 2021 @ 7:03 pm
Why do i get the feeling if it was Sturgill or Isbore with a song about crooked cops or anti Trump that the rating would be 2 guns way way way way way way way way up?
July 15, 2021 @ 8:26 pm
Probably because they’re good songwriters that have a better understanding of country music than Mr. Staind.
July 15, 2021 @ 7:32 pm
We have a song that has inspired conversations.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:07 pm
Please explain to me why Americans are angry?
Is it because of the 2020 election? Or cancel culture?
July 15, 2021 @ 11:00 pm
Neither. The people of my country are angry because of the disparity between the greedy wealthy and everyone else. Our horrendous media outlets like to advertise that it is about race or sex or gender or such but when you talk to people on the ground it’s all about money and the lack of it and the inability to make a livable wage and afford housing.
Specifically where I live we have enough available (empty) units to house all the homeless in this area but they can’t afford it and MOST have jobs. So yeah people are pissed at the corruption of a rigged system that favors the wealthy who don’t care, it would seem, about anything but themselves.
July 15, 2021 @ 9:40 pm
The most insulting line in this shitty song is “Am I the only one willin’ to bleed, or take a bullet for bein’ free”
As far as I’m aware, Aaron Lewis has never served this country a day in his life. He’s spent it making average to far below average music. He’s an absolute unabashed dipshit and he makes country music look awful.
July 15, 2021 @ 10:15 pm
He always was and will be a whining douchebag
July 15, 2021 @ 10:56 pm
“And I’ve got news for you: If you can’t stand Springsteen for his political views, then you better get ready to 86 about 80% of your music library. ”
This is what I find myself saying more and more to “music fans” with regards to any artist they gripe about. But people choose their battles as they see fit hypocritical though they may be because it makes them feel like they actually have some power (even if it really changes nothing in the system).
I’ve heard worse, I’ve heard better.
July 16, 2021 @ 3:56 am
I like Aaron Lewis, but this is the first I’ve heard of this song, so that tells you how much I like him.
It sounds like about par for the course for his songwriting. He does a really interesting job of it and sometimes he doesn’t fuck it up too bad. I wouldn’t give him a great song idea and let him run with it–for fear that he would ruin it.
The real problem of course is that society is right on track to collapse, just as MIT predicted it would 50 years ago. And the political will to stop it doesn’t exist. Our leaders are failing us yet all our energy is focused on trivia. We have all the tools we need to fix any of our problems, yet we don’t. Sigh.
Our glory days are passing us by and I’m not the only one who thinks that.
July 16, 2021 @ 10:35 am
Link to that prediction?
I am intrigued.
July 16, 2021 @ 2:33 pm
“Glory days”…Well played, Charlie!
July 16, 2021 @ 5:28 am
15 more minutes of fame for Aaron Lewis…
…”and for the world as a beacon for freedom and classically liberal values”…
Well…i know 2-3 people with a different opinion about the USA.
July 16, 2021 @ 6:09 am
I don’t disagree with Aaron Lewis per say, but I have to agree with many folks on here that the song is way too whiny and has a victim mentality to it. Personally I much prefer Tom Macdonald’s songs that call out cancel culture than this.
July 16, 2021 @ 6:13 am
This is what happens when you poison your brain with the constant rage of Fox News. Always angry, never listening, worshipping fascists, and ignoring experts.
July 20, 2021 @ 9:29 am
Define expert. And who says all conservatives only watch Fox News? I know plenty who don’t.
July 20, 2021 @ 9:34 am
What, OAN and Newsmax?
July 20, 2021 @ 1:33 pm
That doesn’t answer my question as to who these experts you’re referring to are.
July 20, 2021 @ 9:47 am
Hahahahahahahahaha. “Experts.”
July 16, 2021 @ 7:13 am
Stuff like this gives Americans a chance to exercise our favorite emotion. Being Butthurt About Something. We truly are blessed to live in a land where this kind of stuff is worth arguing over.
July 16, 2021 @ 8:00 am
No Shit.
Give me liberty or give me internet access.
July 16, 2021 @ 8:05 am
I’m indifferent about this song. I think all protest songs are dumb. I think people should stick to universal themes. love, hate, sadness, happiness, disappointment, whiskey, women and heartbreak. If you’re going to do a protest song, Ballad Of a Southern man by Whiskey Myers is how you do it.
July 16, 2021 @ 8:14 am
Well, he’s on the road this year with Staind, and a new Staind album is on the way, so there is where his priorities lie. Money.
July 16, 2021 @ 8:25 am
You know to us Europeans the USA have become one of the worst places on this planet. Its one of the biggest superpower nations of the world and its supposed to be this great example of freedom, liberty, justice and peace. But all its ever accompliced is show the rest of the world how old fashoined, patriotic, violent and straight-up stupid human kind can become. I’m so unbeliavable happy I live in a world that values each other and live by moral and secular beliefs. First of all America.. ban the use of weapons. Second of all America.. stop believing in made up Gods and fairytales. And third.. stop making stupid political songs claiming youre something special.
July 16, 2021 @ 9:12 am
Where in Europa do you live, champ? I for one would be very happy if we had 2A here.
July 16, 2021 @ 11:56 am
Champ’s live in Norway.
July 16, 2021 @ 2:05 pm
Not as bad as Sweden, and home of Turbonegro.
July 16, 2021 @ 10:39 am
But you Europeans had no problem calling for America to save your whining asses in two world wars. Or having us pay for your protection from big bad Russia.
“unbeliavable” Learn how to spell before you trash a country. You are probably from loser country.
Secular beliefs. Yes, the French Revolution and the Communists displayed how tolerant those beliefs are. Rolling heads and Siberian prisons.
July 16, 2021 @ 11:10 am
“you are probably from loser country” says guy who just made fun of a foreigner’s spelling. LOL.
July 16, 2021 @ 12:08 pm
All these events happened eons ago, we’ve moved on. The USA still can’t open its eyes to their own ignorance.
And yes, Mr. School Teacher, I’m from loser country Norway. Where our crime rate is basically zero, our people are not allowed to have guns and our healthcare system takes care of us. And our neighbor who voted for the other party is our friend. Imagine being that kind of a loser.
May Santa bless you, my friend.
July 16, 2021 @ 12:34 pm
You can take your low crime rate, and your excellent educational system, and your tall gorgeous women, and your natural scenic beauty and your free healthcare and your early retirement and stick it. We have Ram trucks, buddy!
I’ll see myself out, thanks.
July 16, 2021 @ 12:49 pm
I’ve lived in several countries and traveled to dozens outside the US. Definitely some issues here, but the media has a way of sensationalizing things and blowing them way out of proportion. Living here is not what you see in the news, and I’d still rather live nowhere else. And seemingly people still want to come here as well, to the worst place on earth, for some reason. To each their own and it’s subjective, but I do find it interesting that you seem to want to speak for all Europeans. In my experience traveling there, there are quite a variety of views on the US, it’s culture, and it’s sacrifice in providing your safety (still to this day, not just 70 years ago). What you describe in Norway isn’t without it’s benefits, but also comes with a trade off, and personally I prefer less state control and monotony. The US has always been a little puritanical, a little ignorant, arrogant, dangerous etc, but to say that’s all it is sounds pretty ignorant itself. I mean, A-ha was great and all, but here we all are, posting on an American website, (sort of) talking about American music ????
July 16, 2021 @ 2:39 pm
That Redd guy unfortunately represents how a lot of Europeans think. They have more tolerance for islamist terrorists than for Americans who legally own guns. And with the European Union basically overriding many of our national laws, the politicians have stopped caring about their own people. America is not a perfect country, but don’t let some European wanker tell you that theirs is any better. Although exceptions might be made for Eastern Europe.
July 16, 2021 @ 4:26 pm
Jake, your response is too balanced and thoughtful to be widely accepted 😉
I’d add that America is a destination for those looking to “make it” for the same reasons many Americans are disgusted with it: We are a nearly pure capitalist society, where it’s money that matters, particularly in politics. While we say we love god and country, our actions say we love money and all the stuff it buys. Corporations are literally better than people according to our laws! (They have all the same rights and get a discount on their taxes). You can’t get much more capitalist than that.
Everything about us is for sale, especially our politics.
We’ve been purposely divided by the big money interests who thrive on our strife. They hang bogus labels like “Democrats” or “Republicans” on the same basic garbage.
July 16, 2021 @ 8:55 pm
The phrase “Europe is a Museum” seems a pretty common response when discussing matters of economy over the pond. I’m no expert but it does seem that most meaningful technological advances / innovations have come from capitalist societies. America at its best mostly rewards exceptionalism and hard work ethic, maybe at the expense of having bigger holes in the safety net. I do recognize what seems to be a growing imbalance of influence from corporations and the truly wealthy, it’s concerning. Cradle to grave caretaking by your daddy the government is the opposite of America at its best IMO. Also, can’t help but wonder if the European countries that supposedly have the happiest citizenry on earth are only rated as such due to a skewed metric; not really knowing how much happiness true exceptionalism can bring only because (socialist) systems in place push both strivers and slackers to the same place. No chance to realize true highs if there isn’t really a meaningful low to frame them.
July 17, 2021 @ 1:44 pm
Comparing Norway to the United States is like comparing a golf ball to a basket ball. The fact that they both round, is about the only thing they have in common. Sorry, but that dog don’t hunt.
July 16, 2021 @ 11:19 am
Says a pampered house cat which lives behind the walls of NATO, which is bankrolled by…. …the same folks who stepped in to roll back the Third Reich. You didn’t mind our acquaintance with riflery when you needed defending from your fellow post-Christian Europeans.
July 16, 2021 @ 12:17 pm
Dude, that’s over 70+ years ago… The world is a different place now. Something you Americans clearly can’t seem to realize and possibly never will.
July 18, 2021 @ 4:29 pm
Scandinavians are a funny lot in a myopic sort of way. They brag often and loudly about how great they’ve got it yet if not for Russia and the US they would have been part of Greater Germania right now and if not for the US afterwards they would be part of Russia. They’ve had it far too easy and lived in a bubble far too long getting high on their own supply of sorts of a false sense of reality.
July 16, 2021 @ 9:27 am
The song is mediocre at best. Hoping to cash in and take advantage of those who somehow feel that the world Trump presented is better than what this great country is capable of. He seems to have forgotten about reality and what we all have witnessed over the last 5 years. However, its the MO of the MAGA right. Wave the flag, sing the songs, detract from reality and take advantage of those willing to support a lost cause and leader.
History will not be kind.
July 16, 2021 @ 11:29 am
Trig your third to last paragraph is a truth that I bring up all the time with my family and friends-whether on one side or the other. While we talk at each other, the money powers only talk to each other about becoming richer, and what red meat to throw at us so we ignore the man behind the curtain- the rich man who only serves to make his country, community, and world a poorer place. And things will never change until we see we are all Okies. There is a quote from a song called “ Cool, Cool, Considerate Men” from the musical 1776 which states” We say this game’s not of our choosing/ Why should we risk losing?”.
July 16, 2021 @ 2:32 pm
I didn’t listen to this, and I won’t, but I find these sorts of songs fascinating – so on the nose, bland, unimaginative. Who likes this stuff?
For example, I agree with the politics of Drive-By Truckers. Babies In Cages made me cringe hard.
There must be a market for this stuff, on both sides, but I don’t get it.
And since the artist makes money off the song, it most often simply comes across to me as pandering.
July 16, 2021 @ 3:23 pm
We will all forget about this song, about this man. It will take fifteen minutes. We will always remember the Boss
July 17, 2021 @ 6:18 am
Sure we’ll remember little Bruce: as the fake messiah of blue collar America.
July 19, 2021 @ 12:20 pm
LOL, if you say so. Bruce has a 48 year career as evidence of his greatness.
What is Aaron Lewis famous for?
Throwing hissy fits and storming off the stage. That and forgetting the “e.”
July 18, 2021 @ 7:44 am
Aaron Lewis has turned into the guy who totally would of joined the army but he would’ve seen red if the DI had said anything to him, so now he supports the troops and America through pandering
July 18, 2021 @ 8:57 am
Jesus!!! Can we stop the pandering already?? It wasn’t genuine in 2004 and it sure as shit isn’t genuine now.
This is nothing more than “I would’ve enlisted, but I’d punch any drill sergeant that got in my face” music. Nothing more!! And frankly, it’s condescending and sounds like a fake cash grab.
July 18, 2021 @ 9:09 am
I like how we thought the same thing, if you need a laugh there’s an article where Aaron Lewis said he would of joined military after high school.
July 18, 2021 @ 9:30 am
To all the “I would’ve joined, but…” people:
Shut…and I cannot stress this enough…the fuck up!!
July 20, 2021 @ 9:32 am
I grew up with a kid who actually did punch his drill instructor. The DI responded by grabbing him from behind, dropping him, and pulling his arms in opposite directions until both of his shoulders popped out of place. Then, he was summarily discharged (not sure if that is the technical term) and unable to lift his arms above his head. Bad idea.
July 18, 2021 @ 8:50 pm
It’s just a tune by a dude trying to make a buck. He wins. Like it or hate it, a new batch of tunes will be released next week.
July 20, 2021 @ 3:26 am
So that means we can’t call him out on his bullshit? Money or not, it’s nothing but pandering and it’s not genuine at all.
Seriously, the “hE’S mAKiIg mONeY” argument is the most played out and lame argument of all time. Do better.
July 19, 2021 @ 5:36 am
Wow – super insightful!
July 19, 2021 @ 8:40 am
I get both opinions of the song and that’s not my fight.
I’m just here with the friendly reminder that politics aside, Bruce Springsteen is objectively terrible and is an insufferable, elitist prick who would have never actually left the country if Trump had been re-elected, despite his ranting. So, no, Aaron…you’re not the only one in that regard. I was turning the station long before that pompous twit who can’t sing and who speaks of himself in third person started injecting himself into politics and anointing himself as Mr. Americana.
That is all. I will gladly accept all slings and arrows from Boss nation now.
July 20, 2021 @ 10:24 am
Warren Zevon poked fun at the Boss in The Indifference of Heaven on Mutineer, so you’re in good company.
July 20, 2021 @ 10:44 am
And they were friends.
July 21, 2021 @ 3:22 am
“Why is that every time Bruce Springsteen sings about a fucking turnpike, it’s considered art?”
– Bo Burnham couldn’t have said it any better.
July 21, 2021 @ 8:22 am
No doubt it appeals to people who don’t like Bruce to start with and who probably don’t have a deep knowledge of his catalog. Maybe there’s more, but right now, I can only come up with two songs where the NJT is mentioned and they are State Trooper and Open All Night (well, three if you include Living on the Edge of the World from the Tracks archive box set). Both are on Nebraska, which is one of his least accessible albums. In both, the song isn’t “about” the Turnpike, but it plays a supporting role, if you will. And in both instances, it’s about that “smelly” part of the Turnpike up north around Elizabeth, where the oil refinery can be seen.
Just wanted to mention that we’re talking Bruce here because this prima donna from Massachusetts, who once sung about smiling when he hears his daughters sing along to Jason Aldean, is now singing about not singing along to Springsteen because of politics. Pretty lame. Chris Knight, he ain’t.
July 19, 2021 @ 7:52 pm
I love the song it has a very good point America is going to crap and it sad. There is no back bone in America it what everyone wants I get offended over history while that history of people dying is why you have the dam option to voice your opinion. Thanks arron Lewis love the song. Whish I could see you in concert on day.
July 20, 2021 @ 9:01 am
No matter where the comments section is, leftist, righty, sports, moderate (speaking of unicorns), music, websites, you know a leftist will come on and show his or her a) total disdain, if not outright hatred for, their fellow citizens and b) a total lack of self-awareness.
The song is OK. A little heavy handed for my taste, but a predictable reaction to the current zeitgeist.
I have to admit, I have a funny relationship with protest music. Fortunate Son is a great, great protest song, but I’ve got to admit, having been raised by successful parents, it does hit a little close to home.
July 20, 2021 @ 10:02 am
Yeah, I’ve had a few folks complain about how downhill these comments sections have gone due to politics. But it’s not just here, it’s everywhere. It’s life in America.
July 20, 2021 @ 1:26 pm
“Specifically, millions of Americans are tired of being told that despite its major flaws—of which there are many—the United States is a tyrannical nation that on the whole hasn’t done more good than harm both for its own citizens and for the world as a beacon for freedom and classically liberal values,”
If you’re going to say “specifically” than please provide specific examples! Because literally no one is saying that. Perhaps you’re watching Fox News and they’re telling you that’s what the left thinks, but that’s a lie! It’s a shame some folks are so easily duped…
July 20, 2021 @ 2:59 pm
Well, I’m sure someone is saying that. This isn’t a political argument. This is a country music website.
July 20, 2021 @ 2:27 pm
Am I the only one who thinks Aaron Lewis sounds bad like 99% of pop radio country?
Autotune, overproduced vocals, elementary lyrics, tired acoustic guitar…just BAD.
July 22, 2021 @ 7:55 pm
I am not going to even browse the comments on this one, but I will just add I like Aaron Lewis. I have long been aware of his character flaws and I like him as a whole for the good and bad.
July 28, 2021 @ 12:20 pm
No matter which side you fall when it comes to Lewis’ song, I don’t think the vocals are that bad. Lewis can sing, and for the most part, even live (from a few YouTube videos I just watched) he stays on key better than many of his peers. I did notice when he gets “lazy” he can sometimes get a little flat.
As far as autotune on the recording, I’m not so sure. Without the actual stems I can’t say for sure, but looking at it with melodyne the vocals aren’t perfect (which is a nice change from most recordings nowadays).
August 2, 2021 @ 2:23 pm
I’m not a country music fan. I’ve never even heard of Aaron Lewis or this website until a few minutes ago. And I gotta say – I really respect the hell out of the guy who wrote this review. It’s contemplative, it shows how much thought this guy has put into not only dissecting this song but understanding the current state of our country, it shows he’s truly trying to understand the issue instead of promoting a philosophical agenda, and shows the reviewer values contemplation, thought, and things that lack philosophical agendas. You’re a good guy, reviewer.
August 8, 2021 @ 7:50 am
I finally heard this song and won’t comment on the specifics except for the line “Am I the only one, willin’ to bleed Or take a bullet for bein’ free.” As someone who spent 23 years in the military, I’m always amazed at those who were too much of a coward to serve following 9/11 saying this crap.
So many flag-waving, AR-15 loving “patriots” eat this up, but when it came time to put your money where your mouth was after we were attacked, they let the actual real Americans stand up for freedom while they stayed back and enjoyed it on the backs of us in uniform.
And if this offends anyone in this flow, then piss off. I already know you are a coward, so stick your AR-15 up your pansy-ass butt.
December 18, 2021 @ 7:41 pm
Clicking a hyperlink brought me to this review. After reading it, my first thought was the bias of the author was glaringly obvious, despite his meager attempt to project a modicum of fairness. Guess I’m not missing anything by not returning.
October 30, 2023 @ 9:08 pm
I believe that we as a whole are now living in a world of victims. As it has been said in many of the comments above ( it’s the poor me attitude, and I deserve this and I deserve that), I hate the fact that people feel they have to attack and persecute our flag and statues of history that molded our country for their own selfish gain because they feel they are owed something that they were never apart of. Our country is being destroyed because victims want to blame others (now) for what happened over a hundred years ago and in my opinion that’s wrong on so many levels! I love this song because Aaron Lewis is reminding us that this is bullshit and things need to change.!!!! Period.!
April 25, 2024 @ 8:46 am
Thank you for beautifully articulating what I couldn’t quite put into words. Much appreciated.