John Rich - The Good Lord and The Man
By: Bobby Peacock
Last Updated: July 6, 2009 1:07 PM
John Rich seems to be in the mood for polarizing political songs lately, if "Shuttin' Detroit Down" and his current single, "The Good Lord and the Man" (listen here), are any indication. While "Detroit" was ultra-timely with its focus on the automotive bailouts, "Good Lord" seems almost jarringly out of step with the times, and in one spot, just plain jarring.
Not that the song as a whole is bad. It starts out with a fairly engaging lyric describing his grandfather's work in World War II (even if "sucker punched" is a bit of a strong choice to describe Pearl Harbor). The song rolls along nicely until the chorus, which contains the line "We'd all be speaking German, living under the flag of Japan / If it wasn't for the good Lord and the man." This is an almost insultingly bad line: It's borderline racist, and it makes no sense at all. Why would Japanese want us speaking German? This line nearly derails the song not only by its sheer pandering and lack of logic, but also by the way that it utterly throws off the meter.
It's actually a shame that he had to squeeze that line in somehow, because otherwise, the rest of the song is a pleasant listen. Rich sounds both relaxed and passionate; he really sounds like he fully believes in his country, and is truly proud of those that fought for it. Just like his last single, it has an easy-going, stripped-down production and melody that recall the neotraditionalist movements of the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Besides the German/Japan line, this song's major fault is its timing. Had he released it shortly after the beginning of the Iraq war, it would have been a good fit among all the other war-themed songs which were topping the charts. But even though the war isn't over, soldier songs are past their prime, leaving "Good Lord" as little more than a song with a good sentiment, one awful line among several decent ones, and not much relevance.
You can support John Rich by purchasing this song at iTunes | Amazon.
READER'S COMMENTS
says:
Posted: Sunday, July 12, 2009
I took two listens and clearly heard "under", not "or." I don't even have a doubt, it's so clear. If Rich's t-shirts say something else, it must be because his people changed it after the song got flack. This song sounds really good, actually, but the lyrics are too heavy handed for me. Instead of sounding sincere, it really seems like he's trying to pander to the populist crowd, which is too easy of a sell in country music.
Kat says:
Posted: Sunday, July 12, 2009
Soldier songs are past their prime? Where were you born? I sing my praises to our soldiers everyday. And I'm not alone. You who take an oath to die for this country are true heroes and MOST of us will never forget that regardless of the timing. And the line is OR!
Bobby says:
Posted: Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Ten Pound Hammer here. I didn't mean to slight the soldiers in any way. It's just that there hasn't been a soldier song released since Darryl Worley's "I Just Came Back from a War", so it certainly seems like he missed the boat as far as soldier songs go.
jipper365 says:
Posted: Monday, July 6, 2009
Tengaged Idol
Matt B. says:
Posted: Monday, July 6, 2009
Nope, I still hear "We'd be speaking German, living under the flag of Japan..." At least that's how the CD plays.
TrinityKim says:
Posted: Monday, July 6, 2009
I have to agree with RichFan. I've listened to the song on an IPod with the sound blaring and he says "speaking German OR living under. . " As someone whose Grandfather served in WWII and whose father served in the Korean war and was in the military for 26 years, I love the song and I don't think you can say it's not timely! As long as we have men and women serving in the military and fighting, any song or any other way of supporting and remembering them is always timely and appreciated!!!! That's too often what happens, something big happens and everyone jumps on the bandwagon, but as soon as people forget, it's no longer "timely"!
RichFan says:
Posted: Monday, July 6, 2009
Well, the "or" is certainly a part of the words included in the CD not to mention emblazoned on the T-Shirt you can get through his website. But hey...what does he know? He just wrote the song.
Rick says:
Posted: Monday, July 6, 2009
John Rich is such a manipulative country music pimp that he will use anything, and I do mean anything, to give his songs an angle including Mom and Apple Pie. Even if I agree with his sentiments, I don't care for the way he pimps them out there as his sincerity is always suspect. If you want a sincere patriotic song check out Red Foley's "Smoke on the Water" as opposed to John Rich the poseur.
ANS22 says:
Posted: Monday, July 6, 2009
Tengaged Idol
Matt B. says:
Posted: Monday, July 6, 2009
Sorry Friend, John originally sang and wrote the song with this lyric: "We'd all be speaking German, living under the flag of Japan, if it wasn't for the good Lord and the man.
RichFan says:
Posted: Monday, July 6, 2009
You missed the line.....it's... "We'd all be speaking German OR living under the flag of Japan" Take another careful listen. The lines makes sense AND came from that Grandfather of which John Rich is so proud.