Veteran John PayCheck Calls Out Country’s Patriotic Pandering in New Song

After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, John PayCheck resigned his position as the tour manager for his famous father, and joined the the U.S Army. He would end up spending more than 20 years in the military, enlisting into a heavy armor tank unit, and then later being commissioned as an officer where he became the pilot of both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft in major combat operations in Afghanistan. He eventually made it to the rank of Major, which likely makes him the highest ranked officer currently in the ranks of country music performers.

After leaving the military and serving in the intelligence realm for a while, PayCheck returned to music to help keep the legacy of his famous father alive, and contribute his own songs and perspective to country music, releasing his debut album We All Have A Story in 2021, and More Days Behind in 2024. His new album Better Plan is set to be released on November 27th.

The new album might be a couple of months away, but PayCheck is already making a buzz by releasing the song “Battles You Never Knew,” which very directly criticizes the tendency of certain country artists to pander to constituencies of country fans, and according to PayCheck, exploit the lived experiences of many combat Veterans like himself.

“9/11 happens, and we see this explosion of songs that are patriotic. And that’s good,” PayCheck tells Saving Country Music. “At the same time, you have these artists that are going to sing these songs, and they have no way of identifying with what someone like me or a Veteran feels about these things, and what we’ve seen and what we’ve gone through. They don’t understand. And when you start to gets into things like PTSD, you’re treading interesting water. How can you really understand that?”

PayCheck admits that you don’t always have to live an experience to write about it. He brings up the case of writing a murder ballad, and how creative license should be allowed in songwriting. But when it comes to many of the songs about Veterans, they just feel disingenuous.

“As Veterans, we are a group that is marketed to, especially in country music. You just get tired of being seen as a prop, or seen as this marketing piece to be exploited. Putting a bunch of troops on stage, you don’t know their name. You don’t know their story. They’re just there for the applause that helps push the performer’s music. I just don’t like it, and it’s never sat well with me. ‘Battles You Never Knew’ is my way to pointing to that.”

Though PayCheck is certainly impassioned by the issue, he’s not here to start any beefs with any specific performers. His motivation is more to share his perspective as a combat Veteran, and to help spread awareness about how many Veterans feel about these songs, even if they’re often compelled to stay silent about it.

“I’m not going to name names or anything like that. That’s just not professional. But they know who they are. Especially with the way songs are written today where you have a room full of writers and they come up with one song. Do you have anyone in there that experienced it? You’re using our grief as a tool, and that’s insulting. It’s a bad look. And to a lot of Veterans, we get it. We see it. We’re used to it by now.”

PayCheck says himself that soldiers, sailors, and airmen are tools of the government, and they understand being used in that capacity. He also acknowledges that some of these songs do help support the causes of Veterans and help raise awareness. But when it’s the media and entertainers using them as props, it’s different. As he sings in the song, “Don’t sell my scars for a hook, or my dead friends for a rhyme.”

“This industry, country music, it preaches authenticity. But it suspends that when it comes to this subject. I don’t understand that. A patriotic song can’t be criticized because now you don’t support the Vets. You look unpatriotic. But that protection is why they keep getting made. It feels false. I don’t like being used as a stepping stone for someone’s career. It’s been an aggravation for me for a long time.”

Then there is the issue with who is getting the proceeds from many of these patriotic/pro military songs. Some of them from independent artists have gone to good causes. Many from big country stars have not. And even though these songs seem marketed to Veterans themselves, they’re often more targeted to civilians who want to signal their support for Veterans by who or what they listen to. Shortly after 9/11 and into the Bro-Country era of the 2010s, having a “support the troops” song was almost a requisite for any major label country album release.

“I debated quite a bit of whether I was going to do this. But who can stir controversy with me? I lived this. This was my reality. When you start telling me that you know how it feels to be assigned the casket of one of your best friends, or that you know how it feels to hand a folded flag to a mother, I say bulls–t. I’ve done it. I’ve done it multiple times. The first time I ever did it, I was crying too, because it killed me. For some, it’s just another verse to the song.”

PayCheck underscores that he’s not saying people can’t write patriotic songs or songs about Veterans. But do they take a perspective that can be considered exploitative of the experiences of Veterans? He also encourages writers and performers who want to record these types of songs to bring Veterans into the writing room with them, and to utilize organizations like CreatiVets that work to help Veterans through creative arts, and specifically songwriting.

“And donate the money. My song? 50% of it’s going to a Veterans organization. Give some money to them. There’s all kinds of organizations. You have to be careful. You have to research them. But if you care enough to write this damn song, then what are you really doing by keeping all the money?”

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