Last week, underground country singer Sturgill Simpson played Conan and performed his song “Living The Dream,” which contains the lyrics, “I don’t have to do a goddamn thing except sit around and wait to die.” The second half of “goddamn” was censored on television (as it usually is to appease advertisers), but that apparently wasn’t enough for the people who left comments on Simpson’s Facebook page criticizing him for taking God’s name in vain on television. “Since I’m self-funding/self-releasing my art instead of shooting for ACM awards and taking it up the ass from the music row man, I have the right to write and sing and say whatever I choose just as you have the right to not buy or listen to my music and stay away from my page if you don’t like it,” Simpson said in a post on his Facebook page earlier today. Read his full comments and watch his Conan performance below.

Been some folks coming to my page to chastise (judge) me for taking the Lord’s name in vain on Conan so figured I should address it.

Ironically, the song is actually a metaphor comparing the soothing yet completely addictive and damaging effects of hard narcotic opiates to the negative sociological impact of organized religion and blind faith when forced upon society and used as a political tool by self-righteous, thinly-veiled bigots to control and manipulate the masses and enhance the suffering of impoverished, lower class citizens. Also, since I’m self-funding/self-releasing my art instead of shooting for ACM awards and taking it up the ass from the music row man, I have the right to write and sing and say whatever I choose just as you have the right to not buy or listen to my music and stay away from my page if you don’t like it.

So with that said…
1. I sang it like I wrote it
2. Censorship is bullshit
3. This is America and people can say anything they want including “Goddamn” at the top of their lungs on national TV

Metamodern Sounds In Country Music is out now. Buy or stream it on Bandcamp.