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Sports

Here is a Song Called 'Take a Knee, My Ass (I Won't Take a Knee)'

A country artist named Neal McCoy released a real song with those real words as the title.

Heady days my friends, heady days indeed. "Country star Neal McCoy" has cannonballed into the festering swamp that bears witness to the discussion over protests during the national anthem with a truly remarkable piece of music. In case you were wondering which side of the debate he falls, the song is called “Take a Knee, My Ass (I Won’t Take a Knee).”

(He does not like the protests.)

(FYI.)

Neal McCoy, did not actually write the song himself, rather a friend did, but he was so moved he had to perform and record it.

“I’ve been on 15 USO tours,” McCoy says. “I’ve entertained our troops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and all over the world. So, no, this is not a money grab. This is a guy that believes in our country, that does not like people kneeling, not standing with their hands over their hearts, for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. That’s what I’m about.”

Putting aside for the, like, one billionth time the fact that these protests have absolutely nothing to do with the American flag, the American military, and American patriotism, the song is terrible. Even in the realm of over the top flag-waving country songs, it falls short. Neal McCoy is no Lee Greenwood or Toby Keith.

It borrows heavily from the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance but its melody, if you can call it that, is all over the map. The rhyme scheme is a fucking nightmare. "From Valley Forge to Vietnaaam//9-11 to Afghanistan//that star spangled banner does yet wave" and "I stand up for the flag, take off my hat for Old Glory" are now sentiments you can hear set to the country twang of a guitar. Pat Tillman, whose family continues to plead with people to stop using their son's name to make their hackneyed political points because he would not agree with them, makes an appearance in the video.

Take a Knee, My Ass (I Won't Take a Knee) is dumb, disingenuous, and devoid of any redeeming qualities. In short, it is exactly the sort of song and video we deserve at this impossible moment in time.