Yesterday Staind's frontman/lyrical mastermind Aaron Lewis released a music video for "Country Boy." If this single is any indication of what his upcoming album sounds like, expect to hear "country" songs that really sound like a clash of Bon Jovi and Alice In Chains, sung in that "imitation of Scott Stapp imitating Scott Weiland imitating Eddie Vedder" style that Staind has perfected.
The video features a guest appearance by Charlie "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" Daniels and Country music legend/ex-husband of Tammy "Stand By Your Man" Wynette, George Jones. Jones plays the role of The Devil in the song, offering Lewis millions of record sales and his name on the marquee in exchange for his soul and the condition that he whiten his teeth.
Check out the video followed by an analysis of some lyrical highlights after the jump.
"My grandfather was a drinker
Back in the day we put him down
But a war is known to change a man
And whiskey's known to change a man"
Like any good country song, we're presented with the classic themes of drinking and death. When Lewis uses terms normally reserved for putting animals to sleep to sing about euthanizing his grandfather, it must be because his grandfather was a beast of man. Grandpa drank because of how much the war had changed him, and now he was even more different because he drank, so we put him to sleep, it's OK.
"I like my jeans and
my old t-shirt
A couple extra pounds never really hurt
Because a country boy is all I'll ever be."
Yeah! Fuck your new button-down shirts and your polyester pants, don't you get I am a country boy, forever ... Don't even think about making me wear shorts! (Unless they're camoflauge cargo shorts as seen in this music video.)
"Now two flags fly
above my land
That really sum up how I feel
One's the colors that fly high and proud
The red, the white, the blue
The other one's got a rattlesnake with a simple statement made
'Don't tread on me' is what is says and I'll take that to my grave"
Let's look closely at this: "The other one's got a rattlesnake with a simple statement made
'Don't tread on me' is what is says" = the other flag says don't
tread on me is what it says.
If you're into this kind of thing, you might not read into the lyrics, and just accept the truth of the song. You know: L.A. and rock and roll are the devil. Army and tractor are good. If you wear fancy clothes, then you don't love America, put your Grandparents to sleep, and it'll all be OK.
