Jason Aldean’s song, “Try That in a Small Town,” was banned from Country Music Television.
Overwhelming complaints reported the song as racist and pro-lynching. The location of the video is where a black 18-year-old was lynched by a white mob in 1927. The 1946 Columbia race riot happened in the same location.
Is the song racist?
What’s the meaning and message of the song?
Who’s the message for?
Should the song and video be banned?
There are a lot of opinions on whether or not the song is racist. So, I did my own analysis to see for myself.
First Two Stanzas of “Try That In A Small Town”
Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk
Carjack an old lady at a red light
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store
Ya think it’s cool, well, act a fool if ya like
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you’re tough
These stanzas talk about people who violently commit certain crimes. These two stanzas are important because the rest of the song is reacting to the crimes committed by the people in these two stanzas.
Is there anything said that’s racist? It doesn’t appear racist. It’s speaking about acts of violence that have been shown in the media (mainstream news, the internet, all of social media, etc.). Nothing here mentions race or a specific group of people.
But are the violent acts mentioned in these two stanzas being committed by a specific group of people?
If I’m honest, based on what I’ve seen in the media (with the exception of the flag stomping and burning) these crimes appear to be committed primarily by black people.
Because it’s what we see in the media whether it’s the mainstream news or social media, we can probably agree that the violent acts in these two stanzas point to black people. Therefore, this establishes who the first two stanzas are talking about—black people who commit violent crimes.
THE SONG’S CHORUS
The chorus is repeated throughout the song in stanzas 3, 5 and 7:
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 chorus of the song dares the criminals in the first two stanzas to come to their small town with their violence and see what happens…basically saying we small-towners won’t put up with any of the crazy violence you (the people in the first two stanzas) bring here because we’re ready for you. It implies that the interlopers (the black people in the first two stanzas) will be stopped. How? It doesn’t yet say (but that question is answered in Stanza 4).
There’s no mention of lynching. There’s still no mention of a particular race. But we can accurately assume the song is talking about black people as I’ve established that the violent acts committed in the first two stanzas are black people based on what’s seen in the media.
4TH STANZA
Got a gun that my granddad gave me
They say one day they’re gonna round up
Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck
The granddad enters the story. Like the passing on of the gun to his grandson, cultural attitudes are also passed down from one generation to another.
Complaints about the song say it promotes gun violence, but many people in the U.S. enjoy collecting guns as a hobby and/or for protection.
But in this case, you can’t neglect that this is a country song, sung by a white man and written by four white men from the south. The history of the white South involves violence and prejudice towards black people.
The gun in this stanza tells us how the small towners are going to handle the black people in the first two stanzas. But who are the small towners specifically? Are they simply anyone from a small town? We’ll find out in stanza 6.
6TH STANZA
Full of good ol’ boys, raised up right
If you’re looking for a fight
Try that in a small town
Try that in a small town
This is the only time the song references a racial group. A good ol’ boy is a white southern man according to this definition:
Good Old Boy is “a man who embodies some or all of the qualities considered characteristic of many white men of the southern US, including an unpretentious, convivial manner, conservative or intolerant attitudes, and a strong sense of fellowship with and loyalty to other members of his peer group.”
Stanza 6 establishes that the song is a black vs white issue. You have the criminals in the first two stanzas who are black, and the small towners are now identified as white men…good ol boys (white men from the south).
The Song’s Message & Who The Message Is For
The message of the song is two-fold:
#1 The song is an anthem for good ol’ boys (white southern men) on how to handle the black people in the first two stanzas. Basically, the song is saying to the good ol boys: Get your guns ready because if they come here they’re not going to make it out alive. Hence the line “see how far ya make it down the road” in the chorus.
#2 The song is a warning to the black people in the first two stanzas telling them not to step foot in our town because they will be shot and killed.
“Try That In A Small Town”–The Music Video
Aldean’s team edited the music video since it initially came out. Some footage was removed, and I’ll note where those changes were made.
In the music video, Jason Aldean and his band are playing in front of a building with the American flag draped from the building. It’s the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. As I mentioned previously, that’s where Henry Choate, a black teen, was lynched in 1927. And in 1946 a race riot took place in the same location.
Blended in with Aldean and his band playing is various footage reflecting the words to the song.
A one second clip shows a man approaching a car (attemped car jacking?), but you can’t see his face. A man jumps over a store counter with a gun. You can’t see his skin color because his face and hands are covered.
In the middle of a protest, one white woman gives the cops the finger with both hands and another white woman yells in an officer’s face. Someone (their race isn’t shown) burns an American flag.
A lot of the protest footage shows white people standing against the police. There’s fire and people violently throwing things throughout the first half of the video.
There’s a two second clip from a violent protest in Georgia where a state of emergency was declared over Tyre Nichols’s killing by police officers. You can’t see the race of any of the people in the protest. (Note: This footage was removed from the video.)
A white man throws something into a store window. There’s a scene of people looting and breaking jewelry cases in a store…you can’t see their faces so their race isn’t evident.
Another scene shows a gunman entering a convenience store. The gunman’s face is covered but his hands are extremely fair.
There’s a black man in a red shirt, turning around to hit someone or throw something. This is the only image of a black person doing something possibly violent where you can clearly see that he is black.
Towards the end of the video, contrasting the violent images, there are peaceful images of white people experiencing small town life. (There are no black people shown experiencing peaceful small town life.)
A man hangs up an American flag. There’s a “God Bless America” sign. Men are duck hunting. A family plays backyard football. There’s vintage footage of a white family next to their red truck. There’s footage of a baseball game. A girl plays hopscotch. A man in a cowboy hat looks out into a field. There’s an image of a tractor on a farm with birds flying by.
The video ends with a man speaking about his experience in the farming community and how they help each other. (Note: This footage was removed from the edited version.)
The most interesting thing about the video is that Aldean’s team went out of their way to choose violent footage that visibly showed white people being violent, not black people. This was strategic. Aldean and his team wanted to be sure the video didn’t have the appearance of racism even though the song itself is (stealthily) targeting black crime. Aldean didn’t want to make it obvious he was singing a song calling out violent crimes committed by black people.
Why “Try That In A Small Town” Is Racist
Racist – characterized by or showing prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.
Based on this definition, the song is racist.
The song, written by four white men and sung by Aldean, singles out crimes being committed by black people. Even though race isn’t mentioned, we know the crimes committed in the song (the first two stanzas) are overwhelmingly being shown in the media to be committed by black people.
In his social media response, Aldean said
“There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it…”
Aldean and his team did their best to make sure the lyrics nor the video referenced race. They did their best to try to keep the racist message under the radar. The song’s only overt racial reference is when he identifies the small town people as good ol boys (white southern men) in stanza six.
Choosing the Maury County Courthouse as the video location isn’t a coincidence, and it makes a powerful statement. Aldean could’ve selected any location to shoot the video, but he chose one where a black teen was lynched and where a race riot was held. This overrides any statement Aldean has made denying that the song is racist. Choosing this location further confirms the song is racially motivated (i.e. racist).
Racism is Complicated
Racism is complicated. It goes beyond slavery, lynchings and racial slurs.
Due to years of conditioning, primarily through various forms of media, the perception of a crime is different when a black person commits a crime vs a white person. If it were white people we see in the media sucker-punching someone on a sidewalk, carjacking an old lady at a red light, or pulling a gun on the owner of a liquor store, there’d be no song called “Try That In A Small Town.”
I am in no way condoning any violent acts, but I’m making the point that we (black and white people included) are conditioned to believe black people committing a crime is a graver offense than when a white person commits the same offense.
“Try That In A Small Town” isn’t speaking out against crime in general. The song targets black crime shown in the media. Crimes particularly known to white people based on what we see in the media–school shootings, serial killers, police brutality, female teachers molesting and raping male students–isn’t mentioned in the song.
Actually, when crimes are overwhelmingly committed by white people, the crimes aren’t attributed to race at all. The only time a crime is considered a “white” crime is when a white person commits a crime against a black person. Otherwise, it’s simply a crime, not attributed to race.
Should “Try That In A Small Town” Be Banned?
“Try That In A Small Town” is cultural as well as racist. It’s a country song, written by white southern/country men and sung by a white southern man. Steeped in lynchings, slavery and segregation, it’s hard to disconnect Southern culture from racism. Times have changed and it’s no longer acceptable to have racist views openly, but that doesn’t mean racist mindsets don’t exist. Like the granddad passing down his gun to the grandson in the song, racist mindsets are also passed down from generation to generation.
Country Music Television made the call to ban the video, and I think they made the right call. Supporting such a song approves its covert racist message. Perhaps CMT doesn’t want to be associated with racist attitudes of the old South.
But you can’t stamp racism out by silencing and canceling people. Overcoming racism happens because someone grows spiritually and emotionally. Aldean would’ve been better off admitting the song is about crimes he’s seen committed by black people in the media. Aldean’s denial and justification are about hanging on to old racist attitudes.
It’s the mentality of the song “Try That In A Small Town” that got Ahmaud Arbery killed. He wasn’t committing a crime, but a few good ol’ boys thought they had the right to confront Ahmaud when he was jogging through their neighborhood. When he didn’t stop at their commands they shot him dead.
See how far ya make it down the road.
Photo courtesy of: “Jason Aldean (52587418812) (cropped)” by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.