Reading between the lines of country superstar Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” has mostly been up to media commentators and social media participants so far, but one country/Americana singer has taken up the duty of writing a satirical number that spells out some of what Aldean’s critics believe are undertones implicit highly contentious hit.
A criticism that has come Aldean’s way has been that the ominous language of “Try That in a Small Town” echoes the coded or uncoded threats that have historically been associated with the South’s “sundown towns” — places where, in the most dangerous eras of segregation, people of color and other outsiders were advised to get out of before dark. Now the singer known as Adeem the Artist has made that interpretation of Aldean’s “See how far ya get down the road” lyrics explicit with a parody song posted on social media called “Sundown Town.”
Beyond making a statement with the comedic song itself, the singer-songwriter got serious in telling Variety just what they see the Aldean controversy representing. “As far as I can tell,” says the much-heralded singer-songwriter, “the only culture war that exists in country music is between people who believe in a just, equitable world with a little bit of space for all of us to feel safe and welcome and those of us who are so afraid of anything remotely different, they’re willing to sing about hate crimes.”
Adeem introduced the performance on Twitter by joking that the clear spoof was actually a straight cover. “I’m gonna level with you here,” kidded the singer. “I don’t agree with the politics of Jason Aldean in any way, but I got a call from a record executive this morning and they said, ‘He’s trending really well, and if we wanna see some higher impressions and retweets and stuff like that, we oughta do a cover of a Jason Aldean song.’ And I thought, well, impressions is what I care about most, so let’s do this.”
Among the lyrics of the parody:
We got no protesters, civil unrest
Never took a goddam COVID test
And we can all read but we don’t do it
Drivin’ trucks valued higher than a new Corvette
And we all wear boots and we love to shoot
And we root for the cops to stop people like you
This is a sundown town
Oh baby, it’s a sundown town
Better never let the sun go down on you, dear brother
Or the guns come out
Now it’s true that I am ignorant on most of this
A couple folks for some reason called me a bigot
But I sweat a lot and I sing ‘em loud
Even though I didn’t write the shit I’m singin’ about
I just read the words and say “That was good“
As long as it implies a gown and hood
Adeem the Artist, who has several critically acclaimed albums, recently performed at the Grand Ole Opry and is currently nominated for emerging artist of the year at the Americana Honors & Awards. A Tennessee resident who grew up in the deep South, Adeem is well acquainted with small towns — although it’s possible Aldean and Adeem would not want to share the same tiny burg, between Adeem’s progressive politics and identification as non-binary and Aldean’s MAGA support, anti-vax beliefs and statements from the family on trans issues that have pitted them against the LGBTQ+ community.
“Try That in a Small Town” became a national flashpoint this week after the release of a music video that was filmed on location at the site of a famous 1920s lynching. (Sources in Aldean’s camp have maintained the production had no knowledge of that history until it was raised after the video was out.) The stock footage in the video includes shots of protesters, some of them taken from Canadian demonstrations, as well as lootings and carjackings, representing the ills of the big city. The lyrics (written not by Aldean but Kelley Lovelace, Kurt Allison, Neil Thrasher and Tully Kennedy) also warn that the government may someday come to confiscate small-towners’ guns, as well as raising the specter of flag-burning, and warns anyone who violates local values, “Round here we take care of our own / See how far ya get down the road.”
CMT pulled the video from rotation after the controversy began to erupt. Perhaps fearful of getting the same backlash from Aldean fans that CMT did, CBS chose to keep a performance of “Try That in a Small Town” in the CMA Festival special that aired Wednesday night, drawing its own fire for seeming to stand behind Aldean’s polarizing song.
Aldean fans have been quick to purchase the song on iTunes, in a successful effort to push it to the top of the song sales chart, where right-leaning tunes have recently had an easy time reaching the pinnacle, given the low number necessary to reach No. 1 in an era when paid downloads have all but disappeared. On Spotify’s U.S. chart, streams for the song have not cracked the top 50.
Coming to Aldean’s defense have been figures from the MAGA wing of the the right like presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro, commentator Candice Owen and the entire panel of “Fox & Friends.”
Meanwhile, some other Tennessee residents have stepped up to say the song does not represent the state’s real small-down values, including singer Sheryl Crow, who wrote, “I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence. There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone, having survived a mass shooting. This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.” Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones, who cited the 1920s lynching, said that “as the youngest Black lawmaker in our state,” he was compelled “to condemn this heinous, vile, racist song that is really about harkening back to days past.”
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