http://www.kucinich.us/nelson_poe_song.php Click this link to read the lyrics to Willie' Nelson's tune. It's about time that someone from the "heartland" stood up public to denounce the endless lies that "justified" the ultra-violence of the attack on Iraq. Merle Haggard started it with his modest protest tune last fall: "...If the war is over how come people keep dying?..." Let's hope we see more of this basic American decency coming forth and no more jingoistic prattle coming from country music artists: "My country right or wrong" is not patriotism. Blind allegiance to a leader is not patriotism, it is what Big Brother demanded in 1984--A war without end against a nameless, faceless enemy.
After all, fans of country music tend to be the parents and friends of soldiers currently walking around Iraq with bull's eyes painted on their backs. Eventually some will overcome their instinctive "we support the troops" and start to seriously question why they were sent. Maybe Willie's tune will help people start to think...
Willie Nelson has always had an independent streak, and his status as a country legend, like Merle Haggard, gives him the space to speak out and give voice to what people are thinking. Let's see if the country stations will play it.
Viva Willie!
"My heroes have always been cowboys..." (a line from one of Willie's tunes)
Cliff