I don't normally listen to country music, but this song is great. He's right about it being a catch 22, and every 1 of his words had meaning. Keep it up John Rich.
Damn good song. Just one in many they come out with these days; one that actually reflects the grass roots views of us country folk, even some small town city folk.
Thank you, John Rich! We need more voices such as yours because we sure ain't getting it from Bollywood or main stream media. They have sold this country down the river. God Bless You! You're a great American!
WOW, very emotional song to many of us. My father, grandfather, uncles, aunts, all work(ed) in the shops. Now my husband and brother work in suppliers for the big three. This is affecting all of us and yet the "big shots" making millions keep slashing jobs rather than their own salaries. Half of us don't know how we are going to make it day to day and dread when the boss comes in the room for fear of a pink slip. Thanks Rich for letting "the little people" be heard!
My husband just lost his job at GM Powertrain WiIlow Run Ypsilanti, MI. He has worked at GM for 35 years and has worked 7 days a week for the last 9 years. He went to college to get a better job at GM. Greed has nothing to do with it, workers just wanted a piece of the pie. No one in Detroit wants pity, just a fair shake. We are in shock. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Thank you John Rich for telling our story in Shutting Detroit Down. God Bless You! Llou71
Amen!!! I don't much care for most of Johns music, but I love his ability to strick right to the heart of an issue and say what we all know to be true.
Politics aside! I wouldn't know John Rich if he hadn't been on Celebrity Apprentice. I'm not a big country music fan but I used to be.....back in the 80's with Garth Brooks and George Strait. What I've seen of John on the tv show brought me here. This is a stand-up, honest, intelligent, funny and caring guy. God bless you John and I hope you win the Celebrity Apprentice.
I am not a country music fan but I like a lot of the lyrics in the music. This one really got me because it is so true. John Rich has created a great song.
I love this song. I mean, i love big and rich, but you can't call their music country. but john rich alone, is awesome. This is one of the only true country songs on the radio currently. I know that tim mcgraw and other people, are called new country. But I still think their music is more poppish, this song is true country. And i like how john rich isn't afraid to sing what he feels.
Thank-you Mr. Rich. This song is dead on. I am an auto-worker here in Detroit. I've been feeling like no one outside the industry I'm in understands. You've proved me wrong. I truely feel ol' Mr. White shirt has let me down after working my tail off for him.
U go John Ritch. Tis song is like reading the hearts of million Americans out there loosing their jobs for no reasons. God speed, let the rest of the country know what is going on.
Kudos to John Rich for telling it like it is..... and for all of you belly aching about what his guitar costs, shame on you that's his bread and butter, What do you want, him out of work too? don't be silly..... WTG John Keep doing what you're doing... you make a whole lot of people smile.....
Love Ya, Johnny!!!!!!!!! Way to tell it like it is!!! There is such a great disconnect between those whose have TOO MUCH MONEY, and those working class, the underprivilegeed, the down right poor, and homeless people who just wanna know they have a fighting chance left.
Thanks for posting this! I've been listening to this today on my local station in western MI. This is why I love country music. I've never been a big fan of John Rich, but this song is fantastic and I thank John for doing something so real! he speaks for so many of us with this song. Fantastic song!
We all just need to remember how perfect non of us is ever going to be, in spite of all of our frustrations. We are all in this together, county-wide, state-wide, country-wide, nation-wide, and world-wide, the only difference is that the less you use, need, depend-on, or know anyone who does within all of this, the less likely you are to give shit....AGAIN, "EMPATHY" has its place at the table, or within the conversation, and until we ALL learn how to be less judgemental, and more helpful...
F-n aye right. We are PISSED OFF. Michigan man here. (Flint orig, now Kalamazoo) My Dad retired from GM years ago but I, and most of my generation will never work there. Most plants are gone now anyway, but I never have and never will buy a foriegn car. BUY American whenever you can people. Seriously! Many have no idea how important this is. I dont have enough space here to fully unload. John Hit a Home run with this song though. Well Done John!
A young man I tutor passed this video on to me. Thx John Wintz for passing on a message of truth. Always remember what we learned these last three years about the real world, stand up & fight for your right to free speech. Also don't need Obama to spread the wealth, anyone who ever needed a helping hand knows how to give one... you teach a man to fish and how to build a fishing pole for himself, not take a fish from the guy who already knows how and goes fishing at 5:00am to get his family fed.
I think you have made a statement and Im proud! The news just said that Wall Street took a 18 billion dollar bonuses while asking for the stimulus plan. Pathetic! Thank You for making such an excellent Song. God Bless You.
john rich rocks and so does this song and its making me very angry that ppl in newspapers and anywhere they can print it is saying that john is making money off our american economic crisis the ones who are saying that are so wrong and dont know what they are talking about and nobody better say that to my face cuz they will be put in their place, rock on john
Our revenues liberated by the discharge of the public debt, and its surplus applied to canals, roads, schools, etc., the farmer will see his government supported, his children educated, and the face of his country made a paradise by the contributions of the rich alone, without his being called on to spend a cent from his earnings. ~ Thomas Jefferson
my radio station is the one he debuted this song on. it really sucks here in MI. i try to ignore it (i'm in high school, why should it matter to me?) but i love that JR wants to get the word out and he's not even from here. bravo, JR. [♥k.Jonas]
When i buy a car or truck and i've bought quite a few, I think of America, family values, hard working people who have died for this country, real americans. When i see a toyato i think of Japan and it makes me want to puck!!!!
I am from Saginaw Michigan, where we have stearing gear, gray iron, and many other GM companies. I know many people makeing 25-35 dollars an hour, retired at 50 or less. There are allot of retirees who drew a pension longer then they have worked. Hell a few years ago there were empoyees punching each other in on the time clock while they stayed home. Shit dealing drugs, you name it.
You go John Rich. You are so right, they have no clue what us here in the REAL WORLD are going through! As someone who lives very close to Detroit and has a husband who works for a company that does a lot for the auto makers having to see roughly 25 people(thank God not him!)laid off in the past 2 weeks from his company, this song has a very personal meaning to me. If they keep this crap up, they are going to shut Detroit down and if that happens, then what?
All I know is that when my lease expired on my Toyota Camry Company car, they replaced it with a CHrysler Sebring. I now totally understand why Detroit is in such trouble and my back will never be the same.
I think this fellow has the most political sense I've heard anywhere. He has a grasp of the reality of the situation. I hope he keeps up these great songs!
And just where have you been for the last 20 years, Suidakka? I've got 38 years in the electronics industry mostly in an engineering environment and it was apparent decades ago that this was happening. You're preaching to the choir.
What did John's granddaddy do for a living? John, thank-you for the song. I live in Grand Rapids and just found out that two of my friends lost their jobs. Been "Blown Away" for a long time now, thanks, Granny... :'(
I just saw the video with Kris K in it for the first time. Amazing video. It made me cry. Those cynics who don't grasp this song obviously haven't lived through tragedy that you can't stop or change. And the song is right on - the CEO's are laughing from their mansions while the working class loses everything. Welcome to Real Life 101, and it stinks sometimes. NO exec is worth billions of bucks. No one is worth that! Geesh....
shorin43, I've never taken a single psych, or economics class outside of high school, I was born and raised as a military brat, who served as well, overseas, and here in the states, so I know what they mean when they talk about following in their families footsteps, What we are seriously lacking is a sincere form of EMPATHY. What ever happened to not asking someone to do a job, or give up things that you wouldnt be wiling to do URSELF. All of the sudden, PEOPLE ARE TOO GOOD TO GET DIRTY??
Last time I check Earnhardt drove a Chevrolet (Jr. & Sr.). Being a fan you should know that. I have 2 Fords. A '97 F-150 with 253,000 miles and an '04 Ranger with 151,000 miles. I think that speaks for itself. I love Fords and will continue to buy Fords. I also make it a point not to buy products made outside USA or buy products made in USA by a foriegn company. Don't tell me you can't find American made products. I do it all the ime. If you can't find it in the store, you can on-line.
Agree 100 percent. There was a time when the WWII vets would let a person hear about it for driving a foreign car. Sadly they are all passing. Now we have the ppl who feel if they can save $1.00 on socks its worth selling out the country
Its time to start thinking like a farmer and start planting seeds for a better future. Build the right cars for America and do not expect to be treated like the Post Office. Put the Post Office to work as Homeland security surveillance. they have the resources to be intelligence agents. Detroit is coming back and it needs to CHANGE for the better.
John Rich is taking advantage of the terrible situation we're all in, for the sake of promoting his new CD and getting some air play. The bigger the hit, the more money in his bank account.
0.5 of the fore fathers were right we don't need as much bisiuness we needed and still need to invest more in farming didn't we learn from the great depression a lot of factors yes but we need not trust what has decived us once i believe the saing goes "shame on u if u fool me once sham on me if u fool me twice" am i right
he is not saying to shut Detroit down, he is saying that instead of bailing out big businesses, we should help the common man. You know the ones who don't have a huge bank account to fall back on.
In my sentence of too many things came together all at once I acknowledged that. There's just a ton of things happening. Irresponsibility on the corporate side, government forcing subprime loans, people taking subprime loans, banks trading mortgages, artificially high real estate prices, uaw and the auto companies, naturally occurring economic slowdown and overspending, trade deficit, etc ...
nother great depression as much as i love our country, i hate it too, my fathers been out of work for almost a year and a half because his company moved over seas and now no one will higher him because of how much he made before, and think oh, well he was paied to much we dont want that, and my dads a hard workin man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and hes willin to go for a lower pay to keep me my mom and my two brothers in a home, this country's economy is f'ed up,
Detroit specialized in automotives. When it was good, the city was good. Now that it's fallen, so goes the city, and the fact that it specialized means that it has nothing to fall back on. It's natural selection. When a species is dominant because of a single trait that allows it to take advantage of a single ecological factor, when that factor changes that dominant species is wiped out. It isn't the fittest of species that survives, it's the one most responsive to change. Detroit needs change.
To bad he didn't have a line in his song like this, ... " what ever happened to for the people and by the people it worked so well for so long ... now our leaders seem to think that all that matters is keeping their power ... the people have to surfer and cower it's all so very wrong "
Yeah, heard this today on Glen Beck as well. Both Glenn and I believe this guy would agree that jobs are created by people, not by the government. And that it takes people with money to pay people money. So, instead of taxing the rich and then spending it on things THAT AREN'T EVEN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, why not give breaks to everybody, so that people can be hired, and people can spend money. And the gov. wouldn't need money if it quit spending.
We have to talk with our money! In the grocery store look for locally grown, In the department store look for "MADE IN USA" tag. By U.S.A. whenever ya can even online shopping, it keeps you and your neighbor employed. If you look you will find it, I DO! Its not just cars it everything you purchase all day long. Those senior businessmen getting huge bonus Right letters asking for jail time, your congress man will like to here from you!
those guys in washington need to work on helping the working people after all we have supported them all these years, they say they are but it never seems to make it down to us......................................
~ He receives a certificate from society that he has furnished such-and-such an amount of labor; and with this certificate, he draws from the social stock of means of consumption as much as the same amount of labor cost. The same amount of labor which he has given to society in one form, he receives back in another. " I didn't even bring up the fact that money doesn't exist in socialism.
The big threes problem is also the UAW. $75.00 average pay would be nice. I live in small town outside of Saginaw MI. I know allot of GM employees that have been retired more then they worked thus pulling a pension longer then they worked. I hear the stories of their friends working and punching them in while they went to the bar. Or all the stuff they stole while there. Granted there are allot of very hard workers, but the UAW saves the lazy.
