If you’re interested in what this guy is actually saying, vs. what people say that he’s saying, there are a pair of fascinating videos on his channel from before and after the song went viral.
A couple of thoughts I’ve had:
He is smart AF. This guy isn’t a dumb bigot hopped up on MAGA propaganda. He may have partway fallen for some of it, but that’s why they spend billions of dollars on propaganda: it works.
The pain and disillusionment he’s making music about are real. It’s stuff that’s happening to him and his loved ones. He’s not a rich, made-for-Nashville country music star.
He’s definitely absorbed some conservative propaganda, but he also sees through a lot of their BS.
He goes into the “wellfare” line a bit, and for him it’s about the cycle of government dependence and how people feel trapped by some social programs. I think with a little more perspective he’d be singing about food deserts and how hard it is to eat fresh vegetables when your grocery store is a dollar tree.
There was a line about “normalizing pedophilia” which makes me think he’s fallen for some of the anti-lgbt+ propaganda from the GOP. I really hope that’s not the case.
He definitely says the people on the GOP primary stage were who he was singing about in the song, not “populist saviors”.
I think he’s halfway to realizing that it’s not really a culture war. It’s a class war, and people like him are losing.
If you’re interested in what this guy is actually saying, vs. what people say that he’s saying, there are a pair of fascinating videos on his channel from before and after the song went viral.
A couple of thoughts I’ve had: