Aaron Lewis Drops Controversial ‘Am I the Only One’ Off at Radio [Listen]

Few will need a second listen to draw an opinion of Aaron Lewis' new single "Am I the Only One." The staunchly patriotic, acoustic statement marvels at a decaying America and swings mighty blows at liberal values.

For some, Lewis says something that needs to be said at a time when Confederate statues are being ripped from government properties and long-treasured rights are being questioned, if not overturned. "Am I the only one who can't take no more / Screaming, 'If you don't like it, there's the fricking door,'" he sings during the censored version of the song. 

For others, the rock-to-country singer has thrown every jingoistic cliche at the wall to ratchet up division during an angry, 360-word opus. Each chorus closes with, "Another statue coming down in a town near you / Watching the threads of Old Glory come undone." Ira Dean and Jeffrey Steele co-wrote "Am I the Only One." The full lyrics are below. 

There is no middle ground with this song, the No. 1 song on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart at the time of an announcement that it will be released to radio. While far too polarizing to be a radio hit, the song won't need airplay to become something bigger.

Lewis has long been something of a cantankerous country singer willing to take shots at the format's stars, so this new material is hardly a stretch for him. He's a proud conservative who understands that singing what you feel is more important than writing for a higher corporate power. Post the 2020 election, he'll no doubt find new fans and bring more listeners to the format. The timing couldn't be better.

Or worse.

Aaron Lewis, "Am I the Only One" Lyrics:

Am I the only one here tonight / Shaking my head and thinking something ain't right / Is it just me / Am I losing my mind / Am I standing on the edge of the end of time / Am I the only one / Tell me I'm not / Who thinks they're takin' all the good we got / And turning it bad, hell, I'll be damned / I think I'm turning into my old man.

Chorus:
Am I the only one, willing to bleed / Or take a bullet for being free / Screaming, "What the hell?" at my TV / For telling me, yeah, are you telling me / That I'm the only one, willing to fight / For my love of the red and white / And the blue, burning on the ground / Another statue coming down in a town near you / Watching the threads of Old Glory come undone.

Am I the only one not brainwashed / Making my way through the land of the lost / Who sees it as it is and worries about his kids / As they try to undo all the things he did.

Second Chorus:
Am I the only one who can't take no more / Screaming, "If you don't like it, there's the fricking door" / This ain't the freedom we've been fighting for / It was something more, yeah, it was something more / Am I the only one willing to fight / For my love of the red and white / And the blue, burning on the ground / Another statue coming down in a town near you / Watching the threads of Old Glory come undone / I'm not the only one / I can't be the only one.

Am I the only one who quits singing along / Every time they play a Springsteen song.

Third Chorus:
Am I the only one sittin' here / Still holding on, holding back my tears / For the ones who paid with the lives they gave / God bless the U.S.A / I'm not the only one, willing to fight / For my love of the red and white / And the blue, burning on the ground / Another statue coming down in a town near you / Watching the threads of Old Glory come undone / I'm not the only one / I can't be the only one.

Listen: 13 Great Country Songs About America: