I haven't heard the song, only the read the lyrics. It seems beyond question to me that the song advocates lynching. The question is whether the lynching it advocates is racially motivated, and I believe that it is. While he doesn't say literally "hang black people," he refers to rounding up "boys" and wanting to do away with "gangsters" and "crime in the streets." I take these as racial code words. Others can have other opinions that would be no more or less right than mine, but that is what the words say to me.

Also, the song specifically refers to Texas. According to this page, Texas had more lynchings than any state except Mississippi and Georgia. And while I have no firsthand knowledge of these Texas lynchings, it seems likely that they would have combined elements of "frontier justice" and the racial killings associated with the deep south. So the references to western themes do not preclude racial killings.

In any case, I find the song repugnant.

Hey folks,

I'm not necessarily agreeing or disagreeing here... but... I'm pretty sure you could look at a great number of popular lyrics and find stuff that's pretty distasteful. It's all just sensationalism... both sides of it. ZOMG so-and-so wants to bring back the days of lynching! ZOMG there's a terrorist plot playing music in our commercials!


The songs are clearly meant to arouse the listener in whatever way - that's what music is supposed to do, I guess. And, as this media-intense, hyper-aware blogging and entertainment community has done, they've honed in on some message they think something is promoting and are pushing it. And yeah, I can see where some might think "Beer for My Horses" advocates lynching in the historical, anti-African American sort of way - I could see where others might not. I can also see where others might see M.I.A.'s lyrics could be seen as terrorist-and-or-politically-inpsired - or seen as someone who is talking about a rise 'to the top'.


But like I said, these are hardly first examples, but with a movie coming out, it's the perfect time to pull out a 5-year old song and make a big deal of it.

I love the M.I.A. song, and though I don't generally listen to country, I rather liked the Keith song. I saw Pineapple Express... and FREAKING LOVED IT... (No, I'm not a pot smoker... but there was so much geniunity... is that a word. Well, I mean... it was what it would be like if... crazy, but realistically so...). I've been trying to figure out where Beer for My Horses the film is playing, but haven't seen it locally, thus far. It's supposed to be a comedy.

Here it comes:

Thank God Hitler was a failed painter. Clearly, we'd be living in a different world if he'd taken up the banjo.

Yeah....like in rap. Some of the most incredibly distasteful (and disgusting) stuff around.

Anyone know the lyrics to Louie Louie?

Ugh, I wish I hadn't sat through the video. I'm a big fan of Willie Nelson as a person, and I cannot believe he associated himself with such a moronic and sophomoric piece of drivel. What a horrible song.

But we aren't talking about the artistic merits of the song, we are talking about the underlying message, and I can't help but agree that the song romanticizes an era of vigilante justice in this country that was far more often than not directed at African-Americans. So whether or not it actually inspired any modern day lynchings is unimportant to me. Any song that paints this part of history as a better time is horribly misguided at best, and at worst, racist.

Rap gets no pass from me. I find much of the subject matter to be equally distasteful. I'm all for an artist having the ability to draw from any subject matter they choose, but that I doesn't mean that I have to agree with their choices.

I was only commenting on Blueerica's comments regarding how objectionable lyrics can be anywhere in music.

I happen to agree with Alex's assessment of the song. I think, as a general rule, racism is sought out and found in places it doesn't exist.

I have no idea whether or not Toby Keith is a racist. I do know that it is undeniable that racism played a major role in those glory days of lynching that Keith's song reflects positively upon. And as a white southerner, he most likely knows the history associated with that practice. To not only condone it, but long for its return, is troublesome at best.

No. Not even the people who sang it.

How about the lyrics to "Greased Lightening"? Dem's some nasty lyrics.