Bo Burnham's Country Song Parody Resurfaces—'Best Rebuttal to Jason Aldean'

Bo Burnham's country song parody has resurfaced amid the Jason Aldean backlash.

In 2016, "Country Song (Pandering)" was featured in the Netflix comedy special Bo Burnham: Make Happy. Now, social-media users are comparing the lyrics to Aldean's controversial "Try That in a Small Town."

Last week, the country singer came under fire over the tune's message—with many debating whether the song had racist undertones. Country Music Television (CMT) also pulled the track from the network after its seemingly pro-gun lyrics were deemed "scary" by listeners.

The lyrics include: "Cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up. Yeah, ya think you're tough, well, try that in a small town, see how far ya make it down the road."

The song continues: "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."

Meanwhile, Burnham—who skyrocketed to fame in the 2010s for his satirical musical comedy—mocks the subjects of modern country songs like cold beer, dirt roads and pickup trucks in his parody.

Burnham sings: "No shoes, no shirt, no Jews, you didn't hear that, sort of a mental typo. I walk and talk like a field hand, but the boots I'm wearing cost three grand. I write songs about riding tractors from the comfort of a private jet."

The comedian adds: "I could sing in Mandarin, you'd still know I'm pandering, hunting deer, chasing trout, a Bud Light with the logo facing out."

On Twitter, countless users have shared "Country Song (Pandering)" as Aldean's track continues to cause a deep divide online.

"Just sitting here remembering that Bo Burnham did #JasonAldean's concept of a small town country song first and better," one person wrote alongside a video of the Massachusetts native. At the time of publication, the clip had been viewed more than 40,000 times on the platform.

"Jason Aldean is exactly that kind of dude Bo Burnham wrote the country song about," a second tweeted, while a third added: "Bo Burnham's Country Song is extremely relevant this week. It's literally Jason Aldean to a tee."

Another added the song is "the best possible rebuttal to Jason Aldean."

Despite the criticism, Aldean has received plenty of praise, too. Former U.S. President Donald Trump called the tune a "great new song" in a post on Truth Social.

Other celebrities, including fellow country artist Travis Tritt and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, also spoke out in favor of the "Dirt Road Anthem" crooner.

In 2017, Aldean was on stage at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas when gunfire broke out. A gunman started shooting from a Mandalay Bay Hotel room window across the street from the concert. In total, 60 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in the country's deadliest mass shooting in modern history.

While Aldean has never explicitly stated his political views, he weighed in on the gun-control debate in the months following the tragedy.

"It's a no-win situation," the Grammy Award-winner told the Associated Press in a 2018 interview. "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."

"It's too easy to get guns, first and foremost," Aldean added. "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."

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