Singer Jason Aldean once complained that firearms were "too easy to get" in the U.S., almost six years before the release of his controversial new track, "Try That in a Small Town."
Country star Aldean, 46, caused a stir when he released the music video for his track on Saturday. The song compares city life and small-town lifestyles, and includes the lyrics that if somebody "cross[es] that line," to "cuss out a cop, spit in his face" or "stomp on the flag and light it up," to "try that in a small town."
The lyrics continue: "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."
Aldean also sings about a gun that his grandfather gave to him, adding that he doesn't want to give it up.
"They say one day they're gonna round up/Well, that s*** might fly in the city, good luck," he sings on the track.
While the track makes clear his support of gun ownership, Aldean appeared to err on the side of supporting stricter firearms control laws following a deadly mass shooting that took place as he performed onstage in October 2017.
A mass shooter killed 58 people and injured more than 400 at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas during Aldean's performance. At the time, his then-pregnant wife, Brittany Aldean, and about 40 members of his band and crew were present at the festival. Two of the crew's tour buses were shot at during the incident.
Months later, the singer opened up about what had happened and how he felt an affinity with the victims of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed and 17 others injured.
"Unless anybody has witnessed anything like that or been a part of it, it's really hard for people to really understand where you're coming from on that stuff," he told the Associated Press (AP) in April 2018. "It's like the kids from the school in Florida, that shooting. I get it, man. I understand how they are feeling."
"No-Win Situation"
While Aldean shared in the interview how he had been gravely affected by the tragedy, the star cautiously approached the conversation around gun control, a hot-button topic that rises to prominence following each mass shooting in the U.S.
"It's a no-win situation," Aldean said of speaking out on the topic. "I think no matter what you say, whether you're for gun control or not, I mean, you're setting yourself up to be crucified in the public eye or in the media."
However, Aldean did concede at the time that there were flaws in the system regarding gun ownership that needed addressing.
"It's too easy to get guns, first and foremost," he said. "When you can walk in somewhere and you can get one in five minutes, do a background check that takes five minutes, like how in-depth is that background check?
"Those are the issues I have. It's not necessarily the guns themselves or that I don't think people should have guns. I have a lot of them."
Expressing concern that mass shootings are often politicized, he added: "Nobody is looking at what the actual issue is and really how to come to an agreement and make a smart decision."
Gun Control Debate
Today, Aldean is at the center of a days-long, heated social media debate on the matter following the release of his track "Try That in a Small Town."
One detractor branded it "very scary" on Twitter, while a supporter said that the song depicted how Americans "are sick and tired of the crimes, criminals, violence, repeat offenders, liberal DA, 2A assault, defund the police BS."
Aldean—who grew up in Macon, Georgia, and Homestead, Florida, with populations of 157,346 and 80,737, respectively—wrote a message to his fans on Instagram upon releasing the song's accompanying video.
"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 wrote. "It feels like somewhere along the way, that sense of community and respect has gotten lost. Deep down we are all ready to get back to that. I hope my new music video helps y'all know that you are not alone in feeling that way."
On Monday, Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, shared an article published by the AP on May 22, 2018. The article's headline read: "Mass school shootings mostly happening in small-town America."
According to the article, of the 10 deadliest school shootings that had taken place in the U.S. at the time, all but one occurred in a town with a population of less than 75,000 and the "vast majority" took place in cities with fewer than 50,000 residents.
"Ironically it's people in small towns and suburbia who think it can't happen here. And that is exactly the type of place where it does happen," Peter F. Langman, a psychologist and noted expert on school shootings, said. "People tend to think of violence associated with cities, not violence associated with small-town America, but this type of violence is the one associated with small-town America."
In posting a link to the article on Twitter, gun violence prevention activist Watts added the caption: "Someone tell Jason Aldean..."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
