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Country Music Television (CMT) says it will no longer air the music video "Try That In a Small Town" by Jason Aldean after critics of the video said it contained lyrics that glorified gun violence and conveyed traditionally racist ideas. 

A CMT spokesperson confirmed the move to NPR on Thursday, but offered no comment on the reasoning. 

Since the video's release on Friday, it's emerged as a familiar kind of political litmus test, with interpretations of its message often falling along voting divides. 

What is ‘Try That in a Small Town’ about? 

, a 46-year-old country singer from Macon, Ga., first released the song in May, but it wasn't until 

 — as promotion for his 11th upcoming album — that the discourse ratcheted up. 

, Aldean said the song represents an "unspoken rule" for those raised in small towns: "We all have each other's backs and we look out for each other." The singer is not credited as a writer for the song, as has been the case for most of his 

Threats to outsiders (and the implication those outsiders are from cities) are present throughout the song's lyrics, which begin with a list of crimes that might happen in urban settings ("Sucker punch somebody on

a sidewalk / carjack an old lady at a red light") then crescendo into the titular chorus: 

Aldean ups the vigilante ante by bridging the second chorus with a reference to gun rights, singing: 

Interspersed between shots of Aldean singing are clips of vandalizing, riots and police encounters, much of which is evocative of racial injustice protests. 

Some of the scenes bear a Fox News chyron, but others, as 

, appear to be stock footage, in some cases of gatherings from other countries. 

But much of the criticism around the video has less to do with these clips then its setting: The Maury County Courthouse building in Columbia, Tenn., which serves as an American-flag-draped backdrop for Aldean and his band. 

 as well as a 1927 lynching in which a white mob pulled an 18-year-old black man, Henry Choate, from jail and dragged him through the city by car, according to several media reports, including one detailed account from 

Choate had allegedly confessed to attacking a 16-year-old white girl "to protect his life," even though the girl "could not positively identify him as the assailant," the 

 he was "pro-lynching," saying such an interpretation "goes too far" and is "dangerous." 

"There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it," he wrote on Twitter. "Try That In A Small Town, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief." 

"NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart," he wrote. 

The production company behind the videos, TackleBox

, also defended the video's location as a popular filming spot, telling 

 that any "alternative narrative" about the reasons it was chosen were false.

Aldean has received five Grammy Award nominations (including two for Best Country Album) for his two decades of music depicting rural, blue-collar life. And throughout that success, he's rarely shied away from sharing his right-leaning political views. 

His wife, Brittany Aldean, and his sister, Kasi Rosa Wicks, 

 dedicated to trolling liberals. Aldean defended 

dressing his children in anti-Joe-Biden attire

as part of a 2015 Halloween costume. He was spotted 

performance at the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort. 

But, at other times, the singer has tried to walk a more nuanced line toward politics, perhaps most memorably after surviving the 

2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival

Aldean was performing on stage as the night's closing act when the shooting began. Six months later, he tiptoed through 

, saying in an interview that tragedies shouldn't be used as fodder for political arguments, but ultimately agreed that it was "too easy to get guns" in the U.S.. 

Gun control advocates are among the song's loudest critics, saying "Try That in a Small Town" glorifies a dangerous eye-for-an eye ethos. 

, founder of the group Moms Demand Action, called it an "ode to a sundown town" that suggested "people be beaten or shot for expressing free speech." 

Others said the song's hints at violence were clearly racial dog whistles, zeroing in on the song's portrayal of protests like flag-burning. Tennessee state 

, a Democrat, summed it as a "heinous song calling for racist violence." 

 are among the musicians who've spoke out against the song. But others, like 

 described the reaction as unfair social commentary.

Political commentators on the right have have held up the country music canon, and Aldean in particular, as a loudspeaker for under-appreciated conservative values. 

 and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis all defended the artist, with DeSantis saying: "When the media attacks you, you're doing something right."

If attention was his goal, then Aldean might agree: As of midday Thursday, "Try That in a Small Town" was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. on iTunes and was 

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Emily Olson

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The country music star is known for his songs about rural life, but critics, especially those on the left of the political spectrum, say his latest music video takes the nostalgic themes too far.

How Jason Aldean's 'Try That in a Small Town' became a political controversy

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