# Willie Nelson just wrote the greatest protest song ever **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089 "2004-01-01T08:01:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/41 "2004-01-01T20:06:08Z")
Yeah, if Clear Channel don’t play it, it don’t get played. Why can’t the terrorists bomb THEM? ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/42 "2004-01-01T21:02:08Z")
I was gonna ask what Johnny Cash might’ve thought about this whole stupid mess. Thanks for answering that, **eli**. Nice to know. Rest in peace, JC. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/43 "2004-01-01T21:07:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don’t ask \* > \*\*I’ll let him know he’s not getting your [vote](http://news.softpedia.com/news/2/2003/September/4775.shtml) for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. \*\* Apologies in advance for what is undoubtably going to be a hijack: let me see if I can make this clear for you, **don’t ask** - I don’t like John Mellencamp’s music and I think there are probably several thousand better musicians and singers. The fact that he may be headed for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does not make me like him. The fact that Willie Nelson thinks he’s a swell fella does not make me like him. The fact that he has done a good thing for someone else does not make me like him. The fact that you are staunchly defending him DOES NOT MAKE ME LIKE HIM. _I_ think he’s a tuneless singer and a mediocre musician - in other words, a hack. And just so you know, your high opinion of Mellencamp probably doesn’t mean a helluva lot to him, either. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/44 "2004-01-01T21:28:02Z")
So, you’re not a Mellencamp fan then? ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/45 "2004-01-01T21:29:13Z")
Folks - this is not a pit thread! This is a cafe society thread! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/46 "2004-01-01T21:47:30Z")
_He does not like him in a box_ _He does not like him with a fox_ _He does not like him in a house_ _He does not like him with a mouse_ _He does not like him here or there_ _He does not like him anywhere_ _He does not like John Mellencamp_ _He dos not like him,_ **don’t ask** \*-I-am.\*\* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/47 "2004-01-01T21:51:17Z")
…and I code like a flub-fingered flubberoo…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/48 "2004-01-01T22:06:12Z")
Sure it’s a Pit thread - the song exists because it’s an anti-Bush protest, not because of its intrinsic artistic merit. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/49 "2004-01-01T22:52:31Z")
**GoHeels** Its an old story, but then again, Willy is a pretty old dude, but heres the best I remember of it… Jimmy invited Willy to sleep over in the White House, and when he was alone he went out on the balcony and smoked a doob. Said he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. It was some time later that he told the story, and regretted talking about it because he heard that Jimmy and his wife were hurt and embarassed that he took advantage of thier hospitality. He apologized to them and said it was a stupid thing to talk about it and hurt thier feelings. But not that it was a stupid thing to do, he just should have kept his mouth shut about it. That pretty much the story as I heard it. Toby Kieth may find some value in writing songs about killing folks. I’m damned if I know what it might be. Maybe Willy can give him a transfusion of mellow. Got it to spare, and it would do him a world of good. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/50 "2004-01-01T23:16:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > \*\* > Darryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten?” > \*\* Stupidity with a beat, but you can’t dance to it. The song’s stupid on so many different levels. The tripe in that song doesn’t even pass muster among the, (non-brain-dead), apologistas. ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/51 "2004-01-02T00:18:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*I was _waiting_ for this… > > Willie played in my Uncle Aaron’s road house… > > Maybe 1955. Thereabouts. My grandmother remembers him as a sweet young man with a crew cut. That was before he played with the Crickets. Before he played Harlem. > > He tells the story about how he took advantage of a White House invitation to go outside and smoke a doobie. And how bad he felt when they found out. About hurting thier feelings. > > OK, I’ve quoted this too many times “I gave up whiskey for weed in 1974. Maybe the only smart thing I ever did.” > > Never give up. Never say die. _Venceremos!_ \*\* Waylon Jennings played with Buddy Holley (correct spelling of his last name), although I don’t think they were calling themselves “The Crickets.” I have never heard of Willie playing with Holley. I saw Willie on new years eve, 1981, and he was definitely taking sips from whisky bottles. On new years eve, 1982, I saw him again, but he was sticking with beer. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/52 "2004-01-02T00:21:56Z")
“Well, who you gonna believe? Me, or your damn lying eyes?” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/53 "2004-01-02T00:27:38Z")
**Road** is correct. Got Willy mixed up with somebody else. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/54 "2004-01-02T03:59:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > I guess Robert Redford was getting lonely in the “People who own or have owned private jets and complain about American oil consumption” club. Hate to do it **Manny** but that just ain’t correct, to my knowledge. I say Redford did sometimes journey on jets - usually in the interests of his film making employer - but has never, ever owned a private jet. So . . . cite please on that personal integrity issue ? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kal \* > So, you’re a Mellencamp fan then ? - to his wife, **Washte**. At the risk of being drawn into this ‘domestic’, some people do assert that Mellencamp (a) does have credible musical integrity and (b) coulda bin a contender, if he hadn’t had his head turned by all that bullshit populist bollocks. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Vote\_Bakunin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ce7236/32.png) [@Vote\_Bakunin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vote_Bakunin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/55 "2004-01-02T04:18:16Z")
The greatest protest song ever? Without having heard it, I’d say it’s a safe bet this is wrong. Some further nominations: _Eve of Destruction_ - Barry McGuire _The Times They Are A-Changin’_ - Bob Dylan _It’s A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall_ - Dylan _Holiday In Cambodia_ - Dead Kennedys _California Uber Alles_ - Dead Kennedys _Peace In Our Time_ and _Shipbuilding_ (among others) - Elvis Costello and for Willie to reach those heights he has to climb past _Suspect Device_ by Stiff Little Fingers, _Short Memory_ by Midnight Oil and catalogues of stuff by The Crass and Poison Girls and myriad other punk acts. But I applaud him for writing a song about the worrying trends in Bush’s administration. As I do with Mellencamp, who is patchy at best as a songwriter. If nothing else it brings an honesty to the whole enterprise in a way that loveloss-by-numbers never can. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/56 "2004-01-02T05:40:41Z")
Don’t forget Jackson Browne’s “Lives in the Balance” and “For America”. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/57 "2004-01-02T07:48:22Z")
I’m not into country music at all, but it’ll be interesting to see the die-hard Bushistas start tearing down Willie for this. IMO, anything that can knock that ultra-smarmy “Proud to be an American” off the airwaves gets a thumbs up from me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/58 "2004-01-02T08:24:35Z")
The best protest song EVAR!!1! is _The Band Played Waltzing Matilda_. Don’t argue, because I am **the** authority. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/59 "2004-01-02T09:01:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\* It was my impression that Willie is saying that he initially believed Bush too and now feels betrayed. I didn’t feel that he was trying to put himself above the “herd.” He was counting himself as _part_ of the herd. \*\* That is not my impression. I think he means that he _used_ to be one of the mindless drone herd, but now knows better and wants to ‘educate’ the rest of the dumb animals. ‘Herd’ is definately an insult. Nope, I agree with **John**. Believing in your position doesn’t make those who differ from you mindless sheep. IMO, it’s a terrible tactic because it tends to offend those you are trying to sway to your side. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089/60 "2004-01-02T14:19:30Z")
**DtC** , if anti-Bush protest songs are what you’re looking for, try “Bush Leaguer” on Pearl Jam’s last album. He doesn’t have to worry as much about alienating his fan base (although he certainly lost a few), so he can get away with slightly less subtle lyrics. Here’s a verse: > [@](#): > > A confidence man, but why so beleaguered? > He’s not a leader, he’s a Texas leaguer > Swinging for the fence, got lucky with a strike > Drilling for fear, makes the job simple > Born on third, thinks he got a triple I like my political protest songs blatant and unambigous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/willie-nelson-just-wrote-the-greatest-protest-song-ever/222089.md?page=4)