No, We Cannot Just “Keep Politics Out of Music”
By Mia Lyman
Image Sourced through Pinterest
Open TikTok or Instagram today, and you are immediately surrounded by music. Every scroll brings a new song—sometimes a chart-topper, sometimes an old favorite—playing behind dances, memes, or photo dumps. When a song goes viral, most people only recognize a few seconds of it, a catchy chorus, or a memorable beat. Over time, this habit of hearing songs without truly listening to them has changed how we engage with music. It has become easy to enjoy a tune while missing its meaning entirely.
Discovering new music online can be exciting, but it is also important not to lose sight of what these songs are actually saying. Tracks like “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen have been repeatedly misunderstood and misused for decades. Now, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” is joining that list.
Image Sourced through Pinterest
This past summer, “Fortunate Son” trended on TikTok as the soundtrack for Fourth of July videos celebrating American pride. Yet the lyrics completely contradict this use. Written during the Vietnam War, the song criticizes class inequality and the privilege that allowed the wealthy to avoid the draft. According to writer John Fogerty, it was born out of anger at a government that sent ordinary citizens to fight in a war with no clear purpose. Seeing MAGA flags flying on boats while “Fortunate Son” plays in the background feels almost like satire. It’s a distortion of everything the song was meant to protest.
Image Sourced through Pinterest
Since its release in 1984, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” has faced similar misuse. At first glance, the title and chorus sound like a patriotic celebration. But anyone who listens closely will hear a story about a Vietnam veteran abandoned by his country after returning home. Despite this, the song has been played at countless Republican gatherings and Trump rallies, even outside the hospital where Trump was being treated. Springsteen himself has openly criticized Trump and supported Kamala Harris, making this misuse even more striking. What was once a protest against injustice has been turned into a political anthem for the very ideals it was written to challenge.
Image Sourced through Pinterest
The most recent example is “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” originally performed by Vicki Lawrence and later covered by Reba McEntire. On the surface, it is a murder ballad about infidelity and wrongful conviction. However, the song goes deeper than that. Through its chorus — “that’s the night they hung an innocent man” — it condemns the failures of the Southern justice system. Recently, TikTokers have used Briley King’s cover to mourn the late Charlie Kirk, focusing on that same lyric. This interpretation is misguided. Kirk’s death was not the result of wrongful conviction or injustice. Using these lyrics to glorify him twists a song about corruption and inequality into a defense of hate, bigotry, and exclusion. While people are free to grieve, this song should remind us of those truly failed by our justice system, not those who upheld it.
The main lesson here is simple: we need to listen with intention. Music is not just background noise or a trending sound. It often carries deep social and political meaning. Many people online ask that we “keep politics out of music,” but that will never be possible. Music has always reflected the world it was created in, and for many artists, politics and art are inseparable. When we ignore that, we erase the purpose behind their work.
So no, we cannot, and we should not, “keep politics out of music.” Instead, we should learn to listen to its message.
