Aaron Watson Fights Fire with Country Rap Fire on “Hey Y’all” Song
Texas Country music star Aaron Watson just released his 11th album Real Good Time on October 9th, and on the album the Amarillo native makes a good, healthy jab at the “country rap” phenomenon infecting country music’s airwaves. Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and the rest of the laundry list country rap crowd are lampooned by a song that is so well written in the country rap vein, the only way you know it’s not the real deal is the disclaimer in the song’s title that reads in total, “My Contribution To Ruining Country Music Country Song! Ha!”
Watson told the story behind the song when performing it live this summer as part of the Nutty Brown Cafe / KVET free concert series in Austin.
Something about a dirt road? Yeah. And then there was a trend where a few of them were rapping. And I said we need a spoof. I need a spoof song, you know what I’m saying? I recorded it with my good buddy Sam. And Sam said, “If you want to have a spoof, a little tongue and cheek, you’re gonna have to rap.” I said, “Sam, I don’t think I can do it.” But I rose to the occasion, or I lowered myself to the occasion. And this is not an honest to God attempt to ruin country music like everybody else. It’s the worst song I’ve ever written, I’m admitting that.
Or maybe it’s one of the best. When you’ve been writing real, heartfelt country music for the last dozen years, switching gears and going the other way and doing it with such wit and insight on how the other side of the music world works takes quite a measure of creativity and fortitude. Stupid bloggers like me can peck away at keyboards all day preaching to choirs, but the artists that fans look up to have the power to persuade, or in this case, point out the obvious that what is being sold to many country folks is a false bag of goods.
Aaron Watson is one of the good guys. Writing and performing a song like this takes guts.
Two guns up!
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Purchase Aaron Watson’s Real Good Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL71XjUZBW8
Andy Vaughan
October 19, 2012 @ 8:37 am
Oh man… that is absolutely brilliant!
TX Music Jim
October 19, 2012 @ 8:45 am
The guy is a genuis. Greatness. He really does have a long history of putting out solid country music. He is also a heckuva a preformer. This is a heckuva a way to take a stab at the country rap BS love it.
RD
October 19, 2012 @ 9:06 am
This is pretty funny. But, I’m wondering if there are any country artists out there today that are capable of doing a true, foul-mouthed and mean lampooning of country rap. I was thinking something along the lines of David Allan Coe’s retort to Jimmy Buffet…
Debbie
May 19, 2013 @ 3:33 am
It isn’t about country rap but Corey Smith’s “If That’s Country” is a bit mean spirited yet right on the mark,
chris lewis "louie"
October 19, 2012 @ 9:13 am
This is great. If this was the first song you ever heard from Aaron Watson you would think he was a pop country star, but after listening to his new album and past albums you would realize why they call him the honky tonk kid. His new album has some great collaborations with Willie Nelson, Elizabeth Cook, Kevin Fowler, and Josh Abbott as well as a collaboration with former PBR champion Justin McBride. Thank god for red dirt and roots music to put Music Row to the test.
Dustin Hunter
October 19, 2012 @ 9:21 am
Should I feel guilty for liking this song even if it wasn’t a parody? I might be part of the problem guys. I will say though Watson’s “rapping” sounds more spoken word to me than Aldean’s “I can totally rap guys! Biscuits, fix it!”
Chase
October 19, 2012 @ 9:32 am
I love this song it is so true.
Clemson Brad
October 19, 2012 @ 10:16 am
Agreed. This song is so bad/fantastic, that you find yourself tapping your feet….awesome work by Watson.
goldencountry
October 19, 2012 @ 10:57 am
I’m gonna to be in the minority here but after listening to clips I’m not impressed. Way to much of what I don’t like it seems to be overproduced..
Eric
October 20, 2012 @ 6:38 pm
That’s the whole point of this song! It’s a parody.
Big STEM
October 19, 2012 @ 11:16 am
The sad thing is if this was serious Aaron Watson would be the next huge Nashville Star.
Eric C.
October 19, 2012 @ 12:38 pm
If this were played on a country station, most people wouldn’t realize the joke…. that’s what makes this parody great.
Ray
October 19, 2012 @ 1:44 pm
I have a feeling that the majority of pop country music fans are not going to think this is a parody at all. And that is awesome.
Trainwreck92
October 19, 2012 @ 5:00 pm
Totally sounds like Aldean.
carrie left mike fisher for me
October 19, 2012 @ 6:51 pm
he actually raps better than colt ford and that’s not saying much though.
Eric
October 19, 2012 @ 11:04 pm
I actually think that country rap has been rejected by the country music audience. Country radio is the best reflection of what country music audiences want, so let’s analyze that. “Dirt Road Anthem” is the only country rap song that has hit #1 on country radio. None of the Colt Ford songs have even been played by radio. Even Tim McGraw’s “Truck Yeah” failed to break into the top 10 on the charts, despite McGraw’s longtime popularity and strength on country radio.
Country music audiences may be willing to accept massive doses of rock, but they seem to have drawn the line at rap. Rap music is simply too musically different from even mainstream country music to be remotely palatable to country audiences. It’s also important to remember that many of the new pop country fans flocked to country music precisely in order to escape the rap-style music that dominates modern pop.
RD
October 20, 2012 @ 5:01 am
“Rap music is simply too musically different from even mainstream country music to be remotely palatable to country audiences.”
Rap is not music, but I do agree with you somewhat about pop country fans being those who fled rap and hip-hop. Pop country has replaced radio rock. There really is no popular rock music anymore.
Ray
October 20, 2012 @ 9:15 am
Maybe you do not think that rap is music because the only “rap” “music” you are exposed to is the mainstream form of it. I think that many people would get offended by you saying that rap is not music. Just like country music, rap and hip hop have deep roots and a lot of culture. I think that most rap and hip hop artists have just as much talented as country artists. They just take their talented in a different direction than country artists. I do think that there are tons of talented rap/hop hop artists and talented country artists that are out there. They are just overshadowed by the top 40 artists controlled by record companies. Maybe you think that rap is not music because you just do not like it. Like it or not, it still seems ignorant to call it “not music.” Music is to each his own.
Dersty
October 20, 2012 @ 10:54 am
I would also like to hear the explanation of why rap isn’t music. Instruments or not, rap/hip-hop is a skill not everyone has. Therefor a bit of talent is involved. It’s good(for a lack of better words) to put you in a certain mood, and, done tastefully, can give you a sense of comfort or confidence.
Is techno music?
staf79
October 21, 2012 @ 6:25 am
if tecno is music then playing computer games is also music:)
RD
October 20, 2012 @ 11:26 am
“Music is to each his own.”
How is that possible? If “something” can be anything you want it to be, then it is nothing at all. If I piss in a bottle and accent light my piss bottle, is that art?
gbkeith
October 20, 2012 @ 3:54 pm
I saw him do this song in Gruene Hall back in July, it was pretty hilarious in person. “No, ya’ll stop that, don’t sing along with this or I’m gonna stop.” And there were a couple ditzy college girls in front of me who didn’t seem to get it.
Eric
October 20, 2012 @ 6:31 pm
The music in the first 40 seconds of this song is way too beautiful to qualify as country-rap.
Mike
October 20, 2012 @ 6:58 pm
Colt Ford and Randy Ford actually had a country rap song called “Hey Y’all”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY0rpYGg_J0
staf79
October 21, 2012 @ 6:21 am
love that somebody as good as Aaron finally pointed out how shitty this kind of country is but he already made it pretty clear in the song something with a swing. Just heard the entire album and it was really good, Aaron still got it:)
Debbie
May 19, 2013 @ 3:07 am
Great point! My favorite is “The Right Place.” As soon as I hear the opening “Aw don’t you wanna hear a little sawin on the fiddle and the cryin of a steel guitar” I want to jump up and say “YES PLEASE!”
Matt Bjorke
October 21, 2012 @ 7:56 am
Parody or not, he could get a smart-ass singer in the mainstream to cover it. I could totally see someone like Blake Shelton – who is a huge student of country music, believe it or not – cutting the song. It’d probably be a hit too. Aaron may make more $$ off of his parody than many of his own albums.
On a side note I wouldn’t consider “Truck Yeah” a rap song. Honestly, if people think that song is rap, they have no idea what rap actually is. That’d mean all those classic recitation songs and many of Charlie Daniels finest are ‘rap’ songs too.
Dersty
October 22, 2012 @ 9:43 am
Here is the original country rapper!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-p0zn3PijY
RD
October 22, 2012 @ 9:58 am
In his song “Ohio Boy,” David Allan Coe claims that his album “Requiem for a Harlequin” was the first rap album ever made…
The Triggerman
October 22, 2012 @ 11:59 am
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/once-and-for-all-spoken-word-is-not-rap
Tim
October 22, 2012 @ 6:36 am
Brantley Gilbert is so jealous right now. This is his bread and butter. Watson pushes this out and calls it his worst. Gilbert tries to write this stuff.
Awesome jb Aaron!
Eric
October 22, 2012 @ 9:31 am
To be fair to Gilbert, he has written some good songs, such as “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do”.
RD
October 22, 2012 @ 9:59 am
Why is anyone worried about being fair to Brantley Gilbert?
Tim
October 22, 2012 @ 10:09 am
To be fair to songwriters, Gilbert’s best is elementary. “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” is very shallow tune. Sorry.
Charles Pereira
October 22, 2012 @ 10:26 am
The only issue i have with it, is they call them parody, then they ride the damn song like its their number one horse in the race. If anyone writes another stupid rap parody make sure everybody who hears it, can tell its a joke without having to do some research.
Mike
October 22, 2012 @ 1:55 pm
The sad thing is if you look at the comments of the youtube videos, and the cheering when he plays it, a lot of people do like it.
The only thing that makes it clearly parody is when he says things like “I’m name dropping like you’ve never heard”
Absent that, it could be a Colt Ford Song, and I frankly better than a colt ford song by Colt Ford’s own standards (i.e. better rapping)
I think the main point is just how easy it is to write these stupid songs.
But unfortunately, I think this will fly over a lot of people’s heads.
Debbie
May 19, 2013 @ 3:31 am
As a huge Aaron Watson fan I cheer when he sings this BECAUSE its a parody full of cliches and non-country nonsense. Definately not because thats what I want to hear from him. I always say he does Jason Aldean better then Jason himself lol.
RWP
October 22, 2012 @ 10:59 am
First Granger Smith,now this.Is this going to be a new trend in the Texas/RedDirt scene? Going to get old quick.Make fun of the Nashville boys,then go play with Kevin Fowler who is every bit of a lame,ridiculous laundry lister as anyone in Nashville is,lol
Mike
October 22, 2012 @ 1:58 pm
Yes, Fowler even collaborated with Colt Ford in Hip Hop in a Honky Tonk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymy3bfC0i_U
Fowler’s duet with ford notwithstanding, his music is genuinely country; though not always the best country out there. I certainly don’t see him as part of the problem.
Are we going to say we shouldn’t support Watson because he does a duet with a pretty good artist who does a duet with someone who sucks?
RWP
October 22, 2012 @ 4:53 pm
No,I’m saying they should be careful on trashing Nashville acts or songs, when there is getting to be just as much awful music on the Texas scene. I used Fowler as an example.I mean cmon,the Bo Phillips song,Smith,now this.What’s next a full on Red Dirt Cletus Judd? To each their own I guess.
Mike
October 23, 2012 @ 1:01 pm
As for hypocrsiy, I think Aaron Watson made it clear that he isn’t trying to make a huge statement, but just poking fun at something he thinks is silly. I saw him play it and he said (perhaps diplomatically) that he wasn’t doing it to bash anyone. So I don’t see any hypocrisy because some Texas singers are not that true to the roots.
What Bo Phillips song you are talking about?
I will acknowledge that a lot of Red Dirt/Texas Country Singers have equally cheesy lyrics as the worst Nashville acts, but in terms of music, they still play music that resembles country.
Fowler is probably among the worst of the lot, IMO, but he is still better than about 75% of what is played on the radio.
Also, let’s not forget he has been recording in Nashville a lot recently. And I think it’s pretty clear that if you look at how Jack Ingraham and Pat Greene–who were already among the most poppy of the Texas singers– changed for the worst when they went to Nashville.
tontoisdrunk
October 24, 2012 @ 2:02 pm
Hell yes!!!
truckdriver
October 25, 2012 @ 2:04 pm
Not bad, but I prefer Jackson Taylor’s take on Todays music (rock included) much better in Country Song. It is at least a good song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N-UFoIraHY