A new track from Brad Paisley and LL Cool J has caused quite an uproar. The track, called "Accidental Racist" appears on Paisley's ninth studio album, which came out Tuesday.
It's not been a hit with critics, who have not been complementary on Paisley's approach to the issue of racism. The controversy reached the point that Paisley felt the need to address the song on his Twitter account.
"I wouldn't change a thing. This is a record meant to be FAR from easy listening," he wrote. "But fun. Like life. Have a ball, ya'll."
The song is about Paisley's struggle to deal with racial issues as a white man in the south. The lyrics describe walking into a coffee shop wearing a shirt with a confederate flag on it.
"[I'm] just a proud rebel son with an 'ol can of worms/Lookin' like I got a lot to learn," Paisley sings.
LL Cool J raps in response to Paisley's lyrics.
"If you don't judge my do-rag...I won't judge your red flag/If you don't judge my gold chains...I'll forget the iron chains" he said.
Paisley spoke to Entertainment Weekly about his motivation for writing the song, saying it is not a stunt.
"I think that we're going through an adolescence in America when it comes to race," Paisley said. "You have these little moments as a country where it's like, 'Wow, things are getting better,' and then you have one where it's like, 'Wow, no they're not.'"
"I just think art has a responsibility to lead the way, and I don't know the answers, but I feel like asking the question is the first step, and we're asking the question in a big way," Paisley said.
The song is not going over well with fans either, with reactions such as the sarcastic tweet from one fan, who wrote, "Shout out to Brad Paisley and LL Cool J for solving racism in America."
However, not everyone was quite so critical of their intentions, even if they don't give high points for songwriting.
"A lot of the knee-jerk offense at this track is just because they acknowledge some rather uncomfortable realities, but it doesn't feel ill-intended," said Jed Smith, a music composer and the founder of Beta Fish Music, who spoke to FOX411. "There is no art to the songwriting, no metaphor, no depth, and so it comes across as a superficial assessment of certain aspects of race relations, with an ostensibly positive message about moving on together that just isn't very cleverly presented."
Here are the lyrics to "Accidental Racist":
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
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
