Randy Houser has been a mainstay in mainstream country music for more than a decade now, but man, it feels like he’s been putting out the best country music of his career over the past couple of years.
Last November, he dropped his sixth studio album, Note To Self, which was one of our favorites of 2022 here at Whiskey Riff.
It’s easy to see that Houser is putting out music that’s personal to him, and that’s been evident since he dropped his impressive Magnolia album back in 2019.
And the Mississippi native is back at it again as he dropped his latest single, “Cancel,” today.
Over the past few years, there’s a good chance that you’ve felt unhappy, or uneasy with the current state of the country, or the direction it’s headed.
Ever since COVID hit back in 2020, it’s been some tough sledding.
However, Houser really puts things into perspective with “Cancel,” as he sings about turning your attention away from all the divisiveness and negative headlines that seem to appear left and right on your TV screens and phones, and focusing on the things that really matter in your life like relationships and family.
The lyrics speak for themselves:
“Breaking my bread at the breakfast table
Bowing my head cause I’m willing and able
Taking the hand of the woman I love
Holding it tighter when the times get tough
Teaching our kids how the good Lord blessed us
Calling out the stuff that the world done messed up
Right is right and God is the answer
Living this life the devil wants to cancel”
Speaking to Rolling Stone on the new song, Randy takes a shot at “cancel culture” for tearing the country apart:
“It’s OK to call things out. But that doesn’t mean all-out war with each other over something that you disagree with. We’re tearing our country apart by doing that. I believe in what the Bible says about forgiveness, that we’re commanded to forgive. That’s another thing that my side has to remember as well.”
And while Houser says that he’s never made overly political music, he’s aware that he’ll likely get some backlash from this one:
“It happens to be from a straight male Republican standpoint, which I’m sure I’ll get a lot of backlash for. People will think that that’s exactly the way I think and that’s the only way I think. And they’ll be wrong.”
He says ultimately the song is about the need to listen more instead of just trying to silence those with different opinions:
“That’s what the song is all about: Stop telling people to shut up, and listen. Most of my friends that are on the left side are actually not as far left as you think. And I am not as far right as you would think.
There’s a lot of places we meet in the middle. Just treat people fairly and if you see someone needs a friend, be one.”
Give it a listen:
