"Accidental Racist" ... a real song

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 2:54 pm

I feel like Bronto should be starting this thread but maybe he's too embarrassed or something, which is understandable.

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 I'm 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 'ol can of worms
Lookin' like I got a lot to learn but from my point of view

I'm just a white man comin' to you from the southland
Tryin' to understand what it's like not to be
I'm proud of where I'm from but not everything we've done
And it ain't like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didn't start this nation
We're still pickin' up the pieces, walkin' on eggshells, fightin' over yesterday
And caught between southern pride and southern blame

They called it Reconstruction, fixed the buildings, dried some tears
We're still siftin' through the rubble after a hundred-fifty years
I try to put myself in your shoes and that's a good place to begin
But it ain't like I can walk a mile in someone else's skin

'Cause I'm a white man livin' in the southland
Just like you I'm more than what you see
I'm proud of where I'm from but not everything we've done
And it ain't like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didn't start this nation
And we're still paying for the 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 you're livin' in the hood
Just because my pants are saggin' doesn't mean I'm up to no good
You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would
Now my chains are gold but I'm still misunderstood
I wasn't there when Sherman's 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, dodgin' invisible white hoods
So when I see that white cowboy hat, I'm thinkin' it's not all good
I guess we're both guilty of judgin' the cover not the book
I'd love to buy you a beer, conversate and clear the air
But I see that red flag and I think you wish I wasn't here

I'm just a white man
If you don't judge my do-rag
Comin' to you from the southland
I won't judge your red flag
Tryin' to understand what it's like not to be
I'm proud of where I'm from
If you don't judge my gold chains
But not everything we've done
I'll forget the iron chains
It ain't like you and me can re-write history
Can't re-write history baby

Oh, Dixieland
The relationship between the Mason-Dixon needs some fixin'
I hope you understand what this is all about
Quite frankly I'm a black Yankee but I've been thinkin' about this lately
I'm 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 that's left is southern pride
RIP Robert E. Lee but I've gotta thank Abraham Lincoln for freeing me, know what I mean
It's real, it's real
It's truth

Its pretty much one long problem.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 2:55 pm

To add: Red parts are LL.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:09 pm

Gawker story on the song.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:16 pm

The entire song is both offensive and completely undercutting of the title in the first two lines. That has to be some sort of record.

Post by **brian** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:24 pm

Serious question -- who is it more embarrassing for? Paisley or LL? I keep going back and forth on that.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:28 pm

Oh, its LL without a doubt. I'm not able to render the final verdict, but I'm thinking even without knowing who was saying what, he would have had the most singularly offensive line in the entire song.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:35 pm

for a guy who I am convinced brought John Mayer on stage last night to spite Taylor Swift, this is mind-bogglingly ridiculous

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:38 pm

My standards for the content of contemporary country music are pretty low. But I think this is a good piece of work. Paisley and LLCJ are getting at things that real people think about race. It's not deep -- but it's much less trite than 99% of modern country songs. I don't find much offensive, but certainly nothing in this song.

On the other hand, the Gawker commentary is pathetic, in my view.

Post by **brian** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:42 pm

DC47 wrote:My standards for the content of contemporary country music are pretty low. But I think this is a good piece of work. Paisley and LLCJ are getting at things that real people think about race. It's not deep -- but it's much less trite than 99% of modern country songs. I don't find much offensive, but certainly nothing in this song.

On the other hand, the Gawker commentary is pathetic, in my view.

Since racism doesn't exist any longer, seems like an unnecessary step.

(And seriously, this is a horrible mess of dogcrap. There's a whole lot of talented Southern bands, country and otherwise, addressing serious issues in society without resorting to pablum like this.)

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:45 pm

what's also going to get lost in this is the fact that Paisley is one of the best and smartest country artists around -- this isn't Hank Jr.

and that makes this even weirder

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:48 pm

DC: Really? The song is called "accidental racist", and yet he knows why the black guy working a minimum wage job is offended despite not discussing it with him. And then LL trades off bandanas for the fucking confederate flag.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:49 pm

brian wrote:Since racism doesn't exist any longer, seems like an unnecessary step.

(And seriously, this is a horrible mess of dogcrap. There's a whole lot of talented Southern bands, country and otherwise, addressing serious issues in society without resorting to pablum like this.)

Can you explain your first comment about racism not existing?

Please fill me in on some of the mainstream country musicians who are addressing race in a way that's a lot more sophisticated than this. I mean this sincerely.

Re: pablum -- sure, this is simple-minded stuff. But that doesn't make it bad. Same as with simple-minded love songs -- not all are bad. I like the device of the two guys singing back and forth. It's not deep material, but I don't recall this technique being used to discuss race before. I'd be glad to hear about what I'm missing.

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:53 pm

DC47 wrote:
brian wrote:Since racism doesn't exist any longer, seems like an unnecessary step.

(And seriously, this is a horrible mess of dogcrap. There's a whole lot of talented Southern bands, country and otherwise, addressing serious issues in society without resorting to pablum like this.)
Can you explain your first comment about racism not existing?

Post by **brian** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:57 pm

DC47 wrote:
brian wrote:Since racism doesn't exist any longer, seems like an unnecessary step.

(And seriously, this is a horrible mess of dogcrap. There's a whole lot of talented Southern bands, country and otherwise, addressing serious issues in society without resorting to pablum like this.)
Can you explain your first comment about racism not existing?

Please fill me in on some of the mainstream country musicians who are addressing race in a way that's a lot more sophisticated than this. I mean this sincerely.

Re: pablum -- sure, this is simple-minded stuff. But that doesn't make it bad. Same as with simple-minded love songs -- not all are bad. I like the device of the two guys singing back and forth. It's not deep material, but I don't recall this technique being used to discuss race before. I'd be glad to hear about what I'm missing.

After Obama's election and/or re-election, there was a lot of references (both amongst intellectual idiots on the Right and People Who Should Know Better) about post-racial America, which probably came as a surprise to a lot of black folks who discovered there were still a lot of bigots who hate them.

But to the point at hand, you tainted my argument by throwing the word "mainstream" in there which is a word I never used . If you want to argue that the powers that be at record labels/music kingmakers, etc. in Nashville aren't comfortable with a musical dialogue about race, I suppose I'd have to concede that point, but if you're only listening to mainstream music (in ANY genre) then you're doing yourself a grave disservice.

ETA: The royal "you", in case it wasn't completely obvious. Drive-By Truckers, amongst other country artists have been singing about race their entire careers. The entire second album of Southern Rock Opera is almost completely consumed with it.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:59 pm

DC47 wrote:
brian wrote:Since racism doesn't exist any longer, seems like an unnecessary step.

(And seriously, this is a horrible mess of dogcrap. There's a whole lot of talented Southern bands, country and otherwise, addressing serious issues in society without resorting to pablum like this.)
Can you explain your first comment about racism not existing?

November 4th, 2008 it ended.

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:02 pm

You mean the day we proved Americans will still vote for a white guy who is a little bit black.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:03 pm

I just can't believe LL went along with it. I never had him in the Mos Def or Q-Tip category, but I didn't think he was a dummy either.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:05 pm

mister d wrote:I just can't believe LL went along with it. I never had him in the Mos Def or Q-Tip category, but I didn't think he was a dummy either.

I can't believe that he got talked into saying "conversate."

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:12 pm

brian wrote:After Obama's election and/or re-election, there was a lot of references (both amongst intellectual idiots on the Right and People Who Should Know Better) about post-racial America, which probably came as a surprise to a lot of black folks who discovered there were still a lot of bigots who hate them.

I know a lot of enthusiastic Obama supporters, including local organizers. Even the most optimistic failed to ever say anything suggesting his election mean we were in a post-racial America. I'm aware of the rhetoric -- but I don't think many real people ever believed this. I don't see anything in Paisley's song which suggests that he thinks this is a post-racial era. The opposite actually.

But to the point at hand, you tainted my argument by throwing the word "mainstream" in there which is a word I never used . If you want to argue that the powers that be at record labels/music kingmakers, etc. in Nashville aren't comfortable with a musical dialogue about race, I suppose I'd have to concede that point, but if you're only listening to mainstream music (in ANY genre) then you're doing yourself a grave disservice.

Brad Paisley is deeply in the mainstream of the mainstream. I judge his work in that context. I've listened to country music since the sixties. There's not much about the current mainstream I can stand. In general, I don't listen to Paisley. This song is one of his lyrical high-points. I give him points for escaping the boundaries of his commercial genre. Of course, it could also be a clever way to boost his media attention by being "controversial."

ETA: The royal "you", in case it wasn't completely obvious. Drive-By Truckers, amongst other country artists have been singing about race their entire careers. The entire second album of Southern Rock Opera is almost completely consumed with it.

I'm a big fan, and almost wrote a line about not judging Paisley by the standards of Patterson Hood. But as above, DBT et al. are not anywhere close to mainstream, and most wouldn't even put them in the country bin.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:15 pm

howard wrote:You mean the day we proved Americans will still vote for a white guy who is a little bit black.

And as long as he's running against Bush's record and opposed by one of the more clueless presidential candidates in American history. And oh yeah, didn't he spend a boatload of money?

Post by **brian** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:16 pm

Some of that is fair, but pablum is still pablum in my book. You're damning with faint praise at best.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:16 pm

mister d wrote:I just can't believe LL went along with it. I never had him in the Mos Def or Q-Tip category, but I didn't think he was a dummy either.

Crossing over. Lots of country fans spend money on music.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:22 pm

brian wrote:Some of that is fair, but pablum is still pablum in my book. You're damning with faint praise at best.

I think that 90% or so of the music that I've heard in the past 10 years is crap. This song is well above that standard, simply because it addresses a serious issue in the lives of regular people, speaks about it in a way that is realistic from their perspective (rather than "right"), and it uses an interesting back-and-forth lyrical device. I'm actually surprised that no one that I know of has done something like this in mainstream music.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:48 pm

Paisley is an awesome guitarist. That is all i have.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:01 pm

Jerloma wrote:
DC47 wrote:
brian wrote:Since racism doesn't exist any longer, seems like an unnecessary step.

(And seriously, this is a horrible mess of dogcrap. There's a whole lot of talented Southern bands, country and otherwise, addressing serious issues in society without resorting to pablum like this.)
Can you explain your first comment about racism not existing?
November 4th, 2008 it ended.

Swamp inside joke from way way way back.

We used to have this redneck guy, dougekurugby (or something like that), that informed us all that racism is, indeed, dead.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:07 pm

Scottie wrote:Swamp inside joke from way way way back.

We used to have this redneck guy, dougekurugby (or something like that), that informed us all that racism is, indeed, dead.

I remember him. We used to beat it to death on AofG as well.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:18 pm

Jerloma wrote:
Scottie wrote:Swamp inside joke from way way way back.

We used to have this redneck guy, dougekurugby (or something like that), that informed us all that racism is, indeed, dead.
I remember him. We used to beat it to death on AofG as well.

Dougie ended up being banned. He was the second ever banning, I believe (after Zlax). But do you remember the thread that set him off? I can't. Not for the life of me. I do remember that Bengal (?) got so fed up that he edited all of Dougie's post away, changing everything he posted to "I like table" and "I like lamp".

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:21 pm

Katrina. As I recall.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:27 pm

I thought it was Duke LAX rape.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:30 pm

Looking forward to the GPJ/Darius Rucker version.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:33 pm

Jerloma wrote:I thought it was Duke LAX rape.

That's sounds right. It was pre-Katrina, no?

Damn these fading brain cells!

Where is Swamp historian rass on this one?

Post by **brian** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:38 pm

He was able to get the same handle on Twitter (dougekurugby), but be prepared to be disappointed.

(Didn't you date his sister or something like that, AB?)

Post by **Sabo** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:07 pm

howard wrote:Katrina. As I recall.

Yeah, it was Katrina. I remember that thread pretty well because some Swampers (I don't think they stuck around) wanted the mods to edit all of his posts because they were so mean spirited.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:16 pm

I bow to a far sharper memory than my own.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:46 pm

Brad Paisley also performed the song that should be the theme song for a few swampers

And no, it's not Alcohol.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:47 pm

Jerloma wrote:I thought it was Duke LAX rape.

howard wrote:Katrina. As I recall.

I thought it was the thread where guys discussed how much money it would take for them to let another dude blow them.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:20 pm

Rex wrote:Looking forward to the GPJ/Darius Rucker version.

This needs to happen.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:40 pm

Brontoburglar wrote:Brad Paisley also performed the song that should be the theme song for a few swampers

And no, it's not Alcohol.

Care to let the rest of us in on your joke/reference?

As for DoucheRugby, he may have gone off in the Katrina Thread, but he came back after that. I joined shortly after Katrina and got into a couple arguments with him. One of my first posts pissed him off and he declared he was done with the Swamp. At the time, I felt bad and thought I ruined the place. Then I realized he was an asshat. He came back a few more times sporadically after that.

DC, i agree with you to some degree. This song is (I assume) an attempt at racial understanding and (maybe) make incredibly stupid white Southerners and equally stupid black people stop and think, but come on. Not only are the lyrics seemingly written by a 3rd grader, but they are insulting. Like someone said up thread, the song equates a do-rag with the racially charged symbol of the Confederacy, which has been used as a symbol of hatred and even lynchings in the name of White Supremacy? Really? Why should LL give up his do-rag, because it scares some racist White hillbilly? And then equates a gold chain with the iron chains of slavery? Again, "I'll stop wearing my gold jewelry, so as not to scare you. And then we can forget the whole 350 years of slavery." Sounds like a fair and racially well thought out song to me!

As for the Racism is Dead stuff, it goes well beyond a Swamp joke. Rush Limbaugh and other Right Wing blowhards used Obama's election as "proof" that we no longer need programs helping minorities, and yes, some moonbeam batshit crazy Liberals did believe this would be the end of racism. Others wanted this to be a "post-racial" world, where we would no longer have to discuss race, like our friend without Hyphens. Or Stephen Colbert.

Hey, I figured it out Zlax46 was NHA!!!!

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 8:39 pm

Scottie wrote:Swamp inside joke from way way way back.

We used to have this redneck guy, dougekurugby (or something like that), that informed us all that racism is, indeed, dead.

I placed the initial reference, but I don't remember when/why he left for good. I think he came and went a bit as it was, even without the arguments.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:04 pm

The Sybian wrote:DC, i agree with you to some degree. This song is (I assume) an attempt at racial understanding and (maybe) make incredibly stupid white Southerners and equally stupid black people stop and think, but come on. Not only are the lyrics seemingly written by a 3rd grader, but they are insulting. Like someone said up thread, the song equates a do-rag with the racially charged symbol of the Confederacy, which has been used as a symbol of hatred and even lynchings in the name of White Supremacy? Really? Why should LL give up his do-rag, because it scares some racist White hillbilly? And then equates a gold chain with the iron chains of slavery? Again, "I'll stop wearing my gold jewelry, so as not to scare you. And then we can forget the whole 350 years of slavery." Sounds like a fair and racially well thought out song to me!

I don't think LL is offering to give up anything. He's joining Brad in wanting to be understood as more than the stereotype his bandana, sagging pants, and chains suggest to so many white people. He's offering the same to Brad.

This may seem trite to many. But I think this simple dialogue probably speaks the feelings of a lot of people. They want to be understood as who they are, not what they appear to be. They don't want to keep fighting battles from past history.

In the end, despite their apparent differences, they seem to come to an agreement on these terms. Peace, love, and understanding, baby. It's inspiration for the masses who don't feel like parsing a sophisticated treatise on race relations and social justice.