The Most Controversial Country Songs in History

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but there are country hits that ruffled feathers (but that didn’t stop them from topping the charts). Believe it or not, a few banned country songs were once deemed too rebellious, too political, or simply too honest for radio play. From lyrics that challenged social norms to stories that made conservative listeners switch off the radio, these tracks sparked outcry before being remembered in the history of country music.  

Despite the bans, many of them went on to become timeless classics (proof that you can’t cancel a great song forever, especially with relatable lyrics). Here are the most notable banned country songs, along with their reasons for controversy at the time.  

Loretta Lynn is the most banned country artist in history, partly because of her fearless approach to singing about taboo subjects, including birth control, divorce, and women’s rights in the 1970s. One of her songs that did not get the radio airtime it deserved was “The Pill.” The song celebrates birth control and the choices that the pill gave women: “This incubator is over-used because you've kept it filled / But feeling good comes easy now since I've got the pill / It's getting dark, it's roosting time, tonight's too good to be real / Aw, but Daddy don't you worry none 'cause Mama's got the pill.”  

As a result, the track was banned by approximately 60 radio stations. Still, it reached No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and became her biggest crossover hit, peaking at No. 70 on the Hot 100. Despite the lack of airplay and one Kentucky preacher publicly denouncing Lynn and the song, calling the lyrics scandalous, “The Pill” sold approximately 15,000 copies per week after its release. The controversy only boosted the song’s popularity and almost cost Lynn her Grand Ole Opry membership. 

Johnny Cash faced pressure to change the lyrics referencing drug use in his song “Sunday Morning Coming Down” during a televised performance. Cash was supposed to change the lyric from “stoned” to “home”: “On a Sunday morning sidewalk / I'm wishing Lord that I was stoned / Cause there's something in a Sunday / That makes a body feel alone.”  

Cash chose to emphasize them instead.   

A song about a 17-year-old's first time, Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine” won the CMA Award for Song of the Year in 1997. With the lyrics, “I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child / One restless summer we found love growing wild / On the banks of the river on a well beaten path / It's funny how those memories they last / Like strawberry wine and seventeen / The hot July moon saw everything / My first taste of love, oh bittersweet,” radio stations were uncomfortable playing a song in the POV of a 17-year-old.  

Tim McGraw’s “Red Ragtop” was initially pulled by several radio stations because it references the sensitive topic of abortion: “Well, the very first time her mother met me / Her green-eyed girl had been a mother-to-be for two weeks (ooh) / I was out of a job and she was in school / And life was fast and the world was cruel / We were young and wild (ooh) / We decided not to have a child / So we did what we did and we tried to forget.”  

Despite the track not being played on radio stations, it still peaked at No. 5 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 60 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.  

The reason why Kacey Musgraves’s “Follow Your Arrow” performance was censored during a live performance at the 2013 CMA Awards was because the track is a pro LGBTQ+: “So, make lots of noise (hey) / Kiss lots of boys (yup) / Or kiss lots of girls, if that's something you're into.” It also included a line about marijuana: “Roll up a joint, or don't / Just follow your arrow wherever it points, yeah,” which was also censored.  

The song reached No. 43 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart but rose to No. 10 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Despite being censored and radio programmers telling Billboard they couldn't play it in conservative areas, it still won CMA Song of the Year.  

Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” was criticized for its aggressive lyrics: “Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store / You think it's cool, well, act a fool if you like / Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, you think you're tough / Well, try that in a small town / See how far you make it down the road.”  

CMT pulled the video after three days of airing due to concerns over its content. Still, it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, while the video currently has 81M views on YouTube.   

Sometimes, a radio station or an award-giving body banning or censoring a song only drives attention to it, elevating it to iconic status. What was controversial in the past can be acceptable in the future because of shifting standards and advancing social conversations over the years. Fewer country music artists seem willing to sing about controversial issues, but those who were brave enough to challenge the norm paved the way for more open discussions in country music.