Uneasy Rider - Cultural References

Cultural References

The lyrics reflect cultural divisions in the Southern United States in the early 1970s between the counterculture of the 1960s and more traditional Southern culture. Unlike with most country music of the time, Daniels' protagonist is a member of the counterculture. The narrator attempts to distract attention from himself and his appearance by proclaiming that one of the locals he encounters is an "...undercover agent for the FBI / and he's been sent down here to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan!" He continues with, "Would you believe this man has gone as far / As tearing Wallace stickers off the bumpers of cars. / And he voted for George McGovern for President." He further states that the man is "...a friend of them long-haired, hippie-type, pinko fags! / I betcha he's even got a Commie flag / tacked up on the wall inside of his garage." The accused defends himself with "You know he's lying I been living here all of my life! / I'm a faithful follower of Brother John Birch / And I belong to the Antioch Baptist Church. / And I ain't even got a garage, you can call home and ask my wife!" The narrator slips outside, just in time to get to the mechanic he had phoned to repair his tire and hand him a $20 bill, and chases his redneck adversaries around the parking lot in his car. He finally decides to leave before the police arrive, not even slowing down until he was almost to Arkansas, and muses, "I think I'm gonna reroute my trip / And I wonder if anybody'd think I'd flipped / If I went to L.A. via Omaha."

Daniels' counterculture attitude was consistent with that of others in the outlaw country music movement but is in contrast to his later right-of-center attitudes expressed in songs such as the 1989's "Simple Man."