CMT hasn’t said why they pulled the video from the network, but there has been criticism on social media about the lyrics. “Got a gun that my granddad gave me/They say one day they’re gonna round up/Well, that sh*t might fly in the city, good luck.”
The video has Jason performing in front of a courthouse with with footage of a flag burning, protesters screaming at police, along with other similar news footage. You can watch the video below or here.
Jason posted this message on facebook (7/18),
“In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far.
As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91-where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.
Try That In A Small Town, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about.
CMT has not said anything about their decision to pull the video. The video has almost a half million views on YouTube at the time this was published.
Watch Jason’s “Try That In a Small Town” video here.
