Hank Williams Jr. is about to have his say.
Williams' has cut a new song, "Keep the Change," attacking two TV networks after an interview last week on the Fox News talk show led to the end of his association with the sports network and "Monday Night Football," long home to his "Are you ready for some football?" theme. Williams compared President Barack Obama to Hitler in the Fox interview.
Williams is also scheduled to appear on "The View" and "Hannity" on Tuesday to discuss the uproar that sprung up after he made an analogy that Obama and House Speaker Rep. John Boehner golfing together was like Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu playing a round.
ESPN decided to pull Williams' intro from last week's "Monday Night Football" telecast after the comments, and the move became permanent Thursday when both sides said they'd decided to pull the spot.
Williams' comments last Monday drew unlikely reactions with many commentators and comedians coming to his defense, claiming ESPN was infringing on his right to free speech. His defenders included the left-leaning Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar of "The View" and Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" and on the other side of the political landscape former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.
And "Saturday Night Live" also did a comedy bit featuring the Williams interview.
Williams' theme song has been part of "Monday Night Football" since 1989. The song was a version of his hit "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" that he altered to match each week's game. He owns the song and all the rights to it, so ESPN will not be able to use it in any way.
Williams wrote the topical third verse of "Keep the Change" when he woke up around 4 a.m. Friday. He borrowed a guitar once owned by George Jones to write the melody and was in a studio with a group of musicians by 4 p.m. The song was done by 5:30 and was being mastered Monday morning.
"It's got to be one of the fastest (I've recorded)," Williams said.
It's now available for free for 48 hours at Williams' website. There also are new "Hank Jr. for President" T-shirts for sale.
In the song, Williams, son of country music icon Hank Williams, says "Fox & Friends" hosts twisted his words: "So Fox 'n Friends wanna put me down/Ask for my opinion/Twist it all around." He finishes the verse: "Well two can play that gotcha game you'll see."
Early in the song, he says the U.S. is "going down the drain" and says it's becoming "The United Socialist States of America." He mentions keeping "Fox & Friends" and ESPN out of your home toward the end of the song.
Asked to elaborate on how he felt about "Fox & Friends," Williams said: "All you gotta do is listen to the song, folks."
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Online:
http://www.hankjr.com