Jason Aldean Faces Backlash for Pro-Gun Lyrics in New Song ‘Try That in a Small Town’

usmagazine.com:

Jason Aldean is facing backlash for his song “Try That in a Small Town,” which features pro-gun messaging.The track quickly raised eyebrows following its release on Friday, July 14, as fans parsed through the controversial lyrics.“Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough,” Aldean, 46, sings. “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.”Aldean makes references to gun control proposals, noting, “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that s—t might fly in the city, good luck.”Listeners have since taken to social media to call out Aldean’s songwriting, especially in light of his own experience with mass shootings.

In 2017, a gunman opened fire in the audience of a Las Vegas concert while Aldean was performing on stage, leaving 58 people dead and 546 others injured.“Uvalde?

Small town. VA Tech? Small college town. Newtown? Small New England town. Parkland? Small town that had just been voted Florida’s *safest* town.

Most mass shootings occur in *small towns* @Jason_Aldean. Your listeners are dying,” a social media user tweeted on Monday, July 17.Aldean, for his part, has not publicly addressed the backlash, but he shed light on the song’s inspiration on Friday. “When u grow up in a small town, it’s that unspoken rule of ‘we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other,’” he tweeted. “It feels like somewhere along the way, that sense of community and respect has gotten lost.