As country singer Jason Aldean tops the Billboard Hot 100 with his song “Try That in a Small Town,” another country legend has thrown his support behind the star.
Randy Travis and his wife, Mary, spoke with Fox News this week to weigh in on the controversy about the song.
Since Randy Travis suffered a stroke in 2013, Mary does the majority of the speaking for the singer.
“You know, when we heard the song, when we saw the video, our first inclination was, we live in a small town,” she began with Travis nodding in agreement. “We feel the same way. And we want the world to feel that way because we really do want to protect our country.”
Mary continued, “There’s some things that have gotten sideways … and it’s not racial, and it’s not any of those things. It’s just where we want to be as a country and the things that established our country.
“Why is it so hard to believe that we’re going to protect our own? I mean, that’s what we do with our armed forces.
“That’s what we do with our family. If somebody storms in your front door and threatens your wife or your children, what do you do?”
Aldean in July released the music video for “Try That in a Small Town,” which featured images of urban rioters with a warning, as the title suggests, not to try that in a small town.
Critics were quick to claim the song was “pro-lynching” and “racist,” causing Country Music Television to pull the video from its lineup.
Aldean spoke out on social media on July 18, writing: “Try That in a Small Town, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.”
https://twitter.com/Jason_Aldean/status/1681382697875144717?
Like the Travises, other stars have expressed similar sentiments about how it is to live in a small town.
Legend Lee Greenwood came out in support of Aldean and said, “I’m from a small town in California and, you know what, people can’t take our freedom away because people know everybody in a small town, and that’s what the heart of America is.
“It’s rural America.”
Jake Owen, Cody Johnson and Brantley Gilbert also have expressed their approval of Aldean’s song.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.