Brian Kelley, formerly one half of the now-defunct Florida Georgia Line, has released a new single, “Make America Great Again.” This song, which does not appear on his latest solo album “Tennessee Truth,” diverges from the layered lyricism often found in country music, opting instead for straightforward MAGA rhetoric.
In the track, Kelley tackles a series of right-wing talking points with a blunt, unambiguous approach. The first verse sets the tone with lines like, “Make America great again/I don’t recognize her at all/Streets are full of drugs and illegals/It’s time to finish that wall.” This leaves little to the imagination, eschewing metaphor for direct commentary.
The song progresses to address inflation, the plight of U.S. veterans, and America’s involvement in foreign wars. Kelley then pivots to a lament for a bygone America where “your word means something/and your dollar means more.” He also decries perceived threats to free speech and the right to bear arms, delivering a line that seems tailor-made for those who found Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” too nuanced: “Try to take our free speech and our rifles.”
In “Make America Great Again,” Kelley encapsulates a specific political sentiment without the subtlety typically associated with country music storytelling, aiming directly at his target audience.
