Hear Aaron Lewis Perform ‘If I Was a Liberal,’ a Politicized Take on One of His Solo Songs

Staind singer Aaron Lewis has made his partisan enemy clear in "If I Was a Liberal."

Not that the entertainer has shrouded the aim of his politics in his solo career as a country musician. But the focus of his ire has never been as distinct as it appears on "If I Was a Liberal," a live version of his State I'm In selection "If I Were the Devil" that Lewis has turned into a pointed right-wing anthem.

The version of the song that appears on the singer's third album as an acoustic guitar-wielding crooner presents a questioning take on good and evil. It plays out as a series of proposed actions one could take if they were the devil, the embodiment of immorality found among many cultures and religions. Fellow country artist Trent Tomlinson, along with co-composer Houston Phillips, wrote the original iteration of the song.

But during a solo performance in New Hampshire last month, Lewis reimagined the tune onstage by conflating liberalism with evil when he reworked the number as "If I Was a Liberal." In it, the song's lyric remains mostly the same except for one forceful difference: The word "liberal" gets substituted for "devil."

At the show at Bernie's Beach Bar in Hampton Beach, N.H., the singer introduced the song by its album title, "If I Were the Devil." Once he started it playing it, however, attendees quickly reacted to the fact that the song's lyrical drive had a new "devil" in the form of modern liberalism in the United States.

The retooled tune has made frequent appearances during Lewis' recent solo sets, as Rock Feed reported. Directly below, read the song's revised words and watch the fan-captured performance.

If I was a liberal, I'd find a way somehow
To make man think he created God and not the other way around
And what you see on TV will seem like the gospel truth
And I'd make right look so wrong, I'd make wrong look so cool
Hey, anything to keep you on my level
If I was a liberal

And if I was a liberal, everyone would just see color
And I'd take all religions and I'd turn them against each other
I'd sit back and I'd love it, I'd watch you fuel the hate
I'd light fires on the evening news and let you fan the flames
Hey, anything to keep you out of heaven
If I was a liberal

And I'd just keep on doing what I'm doing
What I'm doing sure is working out
And if you don't believe me, I could prove it
Hey, all you need to do is look around
Yeah, I'd be thinking things just can't get better
If I was a liberal

If I was a liberal, when all is said and done
I'd be the coward that I am, and I'd tuck my tail and run
I'd hide out in the darkness I'm destined to regret
'Cause if I was a liberal, hell, I'd be scared to death