Country & Western: Bad music or agitprop?

[Koch Ebola]

Am I the only one? Aaron Lewis
Shakin' my head and thinkin' somethin' ain't right?
Is it just me? Am I losin' my mind?
Am I standin' on the edge of the end of time?

Am I the only one—tell me I'm not—
Who thinks they're takin' all the good we got
And turnin' it bad? Hell, I'll be damned
I think I'm turnin' into my old man

Am I the only one willin' to bleed
Or take a bullet for bein' free
Screamin' "What the fuck!" at my TV
For tellin' me? Yeah you're tellin' me
That I'm the only one willin' to fight
For my love of the red and white
And the blue burnin' on the ground?
Another statue's comin' down in a town near you
Watchin' the threads of Old Glory come undone

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?

Am I the only one who can't take no more
Screamin' "If you don't like it there's the fuckin' door!"?
This ain't the freedom we've been fightin' for
It was somethin' more, yeah, it was somethin' more

Am I the only one willin' to fight
For my love of the red and white
And the blue burnin' on the ground?
Another statue's comin' down in a town near you
Watchin' the threads of Old Glory come undone

I'm not the only one
I can't be the only one

Am I the only one who quits singin' along
Every time they play a Springsteen song?

Am I the only one sittin' here
Still holdin' on, holdin' back my tears
For the ones who paid with the lives they gave?
God bless the U.S.A.

I'm not the only one willin' to fight
For my love of the red and white
And the blue burnin' on the ground
Another statue comin' down in a town near you
Watchin' the threads of Old Glory come undone

I'm not the only one
I can't be the only one

Now read my opinion on this song.

[link:https://stephenjaymorrisblog.tumblr.com/post/657430259786006528/its-the-music-not-the-musician|

[lagomorph777]

1. Yes.

[Xoan]

2. Yes

[hatrack]

3. Country has been mostly shit for about twenty years now . . .

It's like lifestyle branding for dumbasses.

Mah truck.
Mah gun.
Mah girl.
Mah beer.
Mah flag.

[CTyankee]

4. Well, I just love Dolly Parton but I don't listen to her most days.

I used to hate country/western music cuz I grew up in Texas and hated it then. But now I see what they were trying to do and I think "oh, hell yes." My husband, a one time classical cello player, shudders and so we listen to his collection of classical CDs (they're still around!) a LOT.

[heckles65]

5. I'm not going to slam all country music.

There are a lot of country songs which are very human. And off the top of my head I can think of a couple songs with something of a left-of-center perspective:

"Skip a Rope" 1968 by Henson Cargill And "Don't Take Your Guns To Town" by Johnny Cash. The narrator ignores his mother's advice - and pays for it.

[uriel1972]

6. Yeah there's good and bad in all genres...

But this song is dyed in the wool supremacist prpaganda

[LT Barclay]

9. That's the old stuff by people who grew up poor.

According to folks who study music, country is gone.
All that is left is pop or light rock with a phony accent and horrible lyrics.
I love a lot of stuff around country zydeco, folk, Celtic, bluegrass.

[Aristus]

7. Both.

Country and Western is horseshit...

[bahboo]

8. bit of a broad brush there....

there is great C & W music, and there is shitty C & W music....like all genres. I would say the vast majority is non political. Some of the fans are yes, assholes. Just look at the Morgan Whitten thing....who sucks btw. This particular song is vile...but don't condemn an entire style of music for it. This is coming from a primarily classical and jazz listener...

[NickB79]

10. Ironic he's trying to sound patriotic but defend Confederate monuments at the same time

Pick a side; the Confederacy was a bunch of traitors who wiped their asses with the US Constitution.