Brad Paisley, as you probably know by now, has a new song called “Accidental Racist,” which features LL Cool J. It’s getting a lot of media attention, and generating a lot of discussion in social media.
Good luck trying to find it on YouTube. You can find it on Spotify, if you’re so inclined. Here’s what some are saying about it on Twitter:
LL Cool J’s 16 bars on that “Accidental Racist” record are the equivalent of Mary J Blige’s Crispy Chicken commercial…..
— Charlamagne Tha God (@cthagod) April 8, 2013
Has LL Cool J become everyoneās embarrassing dad? Thorough examination by @lindseyweber: vult.re/12ECw7q
— Vulture (@vulture) April 9, 2013
BO-RING! You guys hear “Accidental Racist” yet? RT ā@cnn Worries about North Korea threat at all time high, according to new CNN poll.
— Ben Hoffman (@thebenshow) April 9, 2013
The only thing I don’t understand about “Accidental Racist” is how Kid Rock had nothing to do with it.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) April 8, 2013
Just heard Accidental Racist. Next time I hear it will definitely be accidental.
— thesarcastro (@thesarcastro) April 9, 2013
@bradpaisley @llcoolj i just heard Accidental Racist for 1st time & cried. Beauitful honest brave song. I don’t get the “controversy?”-truth
— Penny Lusk (@CaptPirateLady) April 9, 2013
I probably won’t be bumping “Accidental Racist” by Brad Paisley, but the lyrics are actually really good if you just stop & listen.
— DoƱa Paula (@the1paula) April 9, 2013
Isn’t a non-accidental racist like the bad guys in Captain Planet, who deliberately set out to pollute just for the hell of it?
— Sherwin Siy (@sherwinsiy) April 9, 2013
Is it too late for Mitch Hurwitz to add a scene to Arrested Development where GOB Bluth does an Accidental Racist song with Franklin?
— Josh Spiegel (@mousterpiece) April 9, 2013
We are now living in a post-Accidental Racist society.
— Adam Fasullo (@adamfasullo) April 9, 2013
class discussion in military history class went from the holocaust to Accidental Racist lol wtf
— tloob (@tloob) April 9, 2013
Some of the reactions on YouTube have been interesting:
Here are the lyrics (via AZLyrics):
To the man that waited on me at the Starbucks down on Main, I hope you understand
When I put on that t-shirt, the only thing I meant to say is Iām a Skynyrd fan
The red flag on my chest somehow is like the elephant in the corner of the south
And I just walked him right in the room
Just a proud rebel son with an āol can of worms
Lookinā like I got a lot to learn but from my point of view
Iām just a white man cominā to you from the southland
Tryinā to understand what itās like not to be
Iām proud of where Iām from but not everything weāve done
And it aināt like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didnāt start this nation
Weāre still pickinā up the pieces, walkinā on eggshells, fightinā over yesterday
And caught between southern pride and southern blame
They called it Reconstruction, fixed the buildings, dried some tears
Weāre still siftinā through the rubble after a hundred-fifty years
I try to put myself in your shoes and thatās a good place to begin
But it aināt like I can walk a mile in someone elseās skin
āCause Iām a white man livinā in the southland
Just like you Iām more than what you see
Iām proud of where Iām from but not everything weāve done
And it aināt like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didnāt start this nation
And weāre still paying for mistakes
That a bunch of folks made long before we came
And caught between southern pride and southern blame
Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you understood
What the world is really like when youāre livinā in the hood
Just because my pants are sagginā doesnāt mean Iām up to no good
You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would
Now my chains are gold but Iām still misunderstood
I wasnāt there when Shermanās March turned the south into firewood
I want you to get paid but be a slave I never could
Feel like a new fangled Django, dodginā invisible white hoods
So when I see that white cowboy hat, Iām thinkinā itās not all good
I guess weāre both guilty of judginā the cover not the book
Iād love to buy you a beer, conversate and clear the air
But I see that red flag and I think you wish I wasnāt here
Iām just a white man
(If you donāt judge my do-rag)
Cominā to you from the southland
(I wonāt judge your red flag)
Tryinā to understand what itās like not to be
Iām proud of where Iām from
(If you donāt judge my gold chains)
But not everything weāve done
(Iāll forget the iron chains)
it aināt like you and me can re-write history
(Canāt re-write history baby)
Oh, Dixieland
(The relationship between the Mason-Dixon needs some fixinā)
I hope you understand what this is all about
(Quite frankly Iām a black Yankee but Iāve been thinkinā about this lately)
Iām a son of the new south
(The past is the past, you feel me)
And I just want to make things right
(Let bygones be bygones)
Where all thatās left is southern pride
(RIP Robert E. Lee but Iāve gotta thank Abraham Lincoln for freeing me, know what I mean)
Itās real, itās real
Itās truth