Debunking the "50 greatest conservative songs", part 3

Here are a couple of more tunes from the so called, "conservative" list. These two songs have one thing in common: they are both songs by artists who definitely are not conservative, but themes that conservatives claim they are aligned with - religion and middle-America.

6. "Gloria" - U2

NRO Take: Just because a rock song is about faith doesn’t mean that it’s conservative. But what about a rock song that’s about faith and whose chorus is in Latin? That’s beautifully reactionary: “Gloria / In te domine / Gloria / Exultate.”

"This is a song John Miller stole from U2, now we're stealing it back!"

Miller points out that just because it’s a song of faith, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s conservative. He is absolutely correct. And Gloria is definitely a song of faith. If you know U2 then you know that they are a very spiritual group. With that in mind, let’s look at the other songs of U2 and what they portray. First take, “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”. This is a song is about the deaths of 14 people in response to an IRA assassination campaign against government officials. It denounces terrorism, sure but it’s more about denouncing violence. The song, “New Years Day” is about a nuclear holocaust, and, “Bullet The Blue Sky” is obviously about the U.S. military involvement in El Salvador during their civil war. All one has to do to understand the meaning of this song is to listen to the live cut on the album, “Rattle and Hum.” And what about, “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” a song about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement? Yes, U2 is a spiritual group, but they are not conservative and to own one song out of many songs that speak out against the conservative movement is wrong. One of my favorite albums by the group is, “Rattle and Hum”. On this you will find the song, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” which has been interpreted as a spiritual song by many (and it is). The track on, “Rattle and Hum” is accompanied by a church choir in Harlem. When was the last time you saw Toby Keith perform with a choir from Harlem?

31. "Small Town" - John Cougar Mellencamp

NRO Take: A Burkean rocker: “No, I cannot forget where it is that I come from / I cannot forget the people who love me.”

If he did any research on John Cougar Mellencamp, he would have found that JCM is a very outspoken liberal. In fact the song, “Small Town” was John Edwards campaign theme song and JCM performed at a couple of Democratic events. This is the same man who created a protest song, “To Washington.” If you aren’t familiar with it, here are a few verses: And he wants to fight with many/And he says it's not for oil/He sent out the National Guard/To police the world/From Baghdad to Washington. Here is a great article from the Washington Post regarding his political beliefs. Let’s just say that he is far from conservative. Being from a rural town in Indiana does not make one a right-wing freak and to take one of JCM’s songs, out of many and say that it reflects conservative, “values” is just wrong.