That Ain't Country

Album: Sinner (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Aaron Lewis taking a critical view of contemporary pop-friendly country music stars contrasted with some of the legendary Nashville greats. Lewis said he wrote the track while "questioning where the country is in a lot of today's country music."
  • Lewis explained the inspiration for the song, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and that is what makes America great. I grew up listening to Merle, Waylon, Willie, Charlie Daniels and more on the radio. So when I listen to what is being played today, I barely recognize it as Country music. So that is where the song originated."
  • Lewis debuted the song on September 6, 2014 at the Cowboys Saloon and Grill in Davie, Florida, on the very same day that he penned it.
  • Aaron Lewis explained to Rolling Stone that it's the sound of contemporary country songs and their "lack of meaningful heartfelt lyrics" that he's criticizing here.

    "It's a lot of the same thing," he said. "There are times where I've sat there listening to the radio and a song by five different artists plays on the radio and the song never changes. Like to the point where I know that the program directors have to be careful of putting particular artists back to back, because they sound so much alike. It's a long slippery slope of a conversation and I've teetered on that slope about as much as I'd like to."

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