Jason Aldean is still standing by “Try That In A Small Town.”
Remember how divisive Aldean’s anti-violence and anti-theft single was back in 2023? If there was a “Most Controversial Song” award, there wouldn’t have even been nominees for the category last year. They would have just simultaneously announced the category and given the title to Jason Aldean.
Now reflecting back on the song, it’s wild to think that it gained so much buzz that it became a national talking point. The country music star was just trying to share his view on some of the rampant lawlessness that was happening in America, and accidentally landed himself right in the middle of a political debate.
Aldean was just trying to put together a meaningful and genuine track, as he does with a lot of his music. He actually touched on that in a recent interview with Hook & Barrel Magazine:
“Our mentality was to be a little more mindful, writing songs that have a little more meat on the bone than just these sorts of easy songs that’ll get played on the radio that don’t really say a whole lot. We concentrate on writing songs that say something, whether that be about relationship stuff or, even ‘Try That in a Small Town.’”
Funny that he mentioned that specific song…
I’m sure the viral track would have come up at some point in the interview, but Aldean mentioning it first made it free game. When asked to elaborate on the song – and everything that happened around it – the country singer suggested that they just crafted the song around how they were feeling in that very moment.
Aldean never expected to, or wanted to, start an internet firestorm:
“I don’t think that song came about because we were trying to step out there and do something that really moved the needle. It was never intended to go in and specifically write something that was gonna stir the pot. It just came from a place of, this is on our mind. I’m 47 years old now, things change.”
The “Let Your Boys Be Country” singer then summed things up in simpler terms:
“If you got it, you got it. And if you didn’t, you didn’t. But to me, it is exactly what I wanted it to be.”
And even those who condemned Aldean for the song have to concede that the ideals he showcased within the song weren’t all that far-fetched. Take the early part of the lyrics, for example. Jason Aldean was just saying, “Hey, we shouldn’t spit in the face of our police or light the American flag on fire.”
Somehow lyrics like these really rubbed people the wrong way:
“Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you’re tough
Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
Around here, we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won’t take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don’t
Try that in a small town”
The music video, featuring various scene of lawlessness, also featured real life news footage… that stuff was happening?
But like all music, some songs are meant for some and not for others. It’s okay to listen to a song and not like it, but people were trying to straight up cancel Jason Aldean for “Try That In A Small Town.” How crazy is that? Now a year removed from the song’s release (and the subsequent outrage that surrounded it), it’s clear that the country star can brush it off a little easier.
And like he said… if you got what he was trying to say, you got it.
