"Ain't I Right" is a political country song written, produced, and sung by Marty Robbins in June 1966. Heavily

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

in nature, the song criticizes the

counterculture of the 1960s The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...

and

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

movements, opposition to the Vietnam War, and the American Left.

Lyrical content

Written during the rise of American counterculture and opposition to the Vietnam War, "Ain't I Right" accuses counterculture activists and anti-war protestors of being communists and socialists (which the song states are essentially the same thing) intent on undermining and disrupting American life and values, especially the American war effort in Vietnam, and argues their intent is not to "help the people", but rather to maximize suffering and misery among them. Robbins describes counterculture and anti-war activists as "a bearded bathless bunch" and "tramps", including "a minister or two" and "a priest, a nun, a rabbi, and an educated man" converted to leftism. Robbins alleges they are supported by "two-faced politicians" that promote draft-card burning and disagreeing with the

U.S. government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

; he makes specific mention of a certain politician suggesting Americans "send some blood" and support North Vietnam, and suggests that the politician "keep the blood" and go to Vietnam himself to fight (and die) instead. Robbins argues these politicians make the United States weak, and proposes that they be removed from office in favor of "strong and able leaders" capable of defeating North Vietnam and the American Left, winning the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, and preventing an invasion of the United States by the Soviet Union and

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

. Robbins frames the first half of the song around a loose plot detailing leftist activists visiting a town in the Southern United States in an attempt to convert Southerners to leftist ideologies, only to cause trouble and misery before leaving with little care for the town's denizens.

Reception

When the song was made,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

refused to release it, stating that it was too provocative and political. Other artists published covers of the song, such as Robbins's backup singer Bobby Sykes, who recorded it under the name of Johnny Freedom; and Autry Inman.Autry Inman - Ballad of Two Brothers
Retrieved March 1 2022

References

1966 songs 1966 singles Protest songs Songs of the Vietnam War Marty Robbins songs Songs written by Marty Robbins Anti-communism in the United States Conservative media in the United States Songs about the American South Anti-communist works {{1960s-country-song-stub