The 30 Most Controversial Songs in Country Music History, Ranked

The love is strong for these 30 controversial country songs. The hate is strong, too.

Country music’s biggest hitmakers took on sensitive social subjects in ways that became anthemic to one group of fans, while leaving another snarling. The 1970s were a particularly controversial era in country, but the early 2000s populate this list quite a few times, as well.

There aren’t very many controversial country songs from the last five years, which begs the question: Why is everyone afraid to take a risk today?

Find controversial hits from Loretta Lynn, Tim McGraw, Merle Haggard, Tanya Tucker, Carrie Underwood and more on this list of 30 songs. They’re ranked by the size of the controversy, not our opinion of the song. How many have you lived through?

Trace Adkins, Dolly Parton, Toby Keith and Reba McEntire are four more who were unafraid to say something that might upset a few people. It’s arguably what made them legends, but admittedly, these songs dropped when there wasn’t an instant feedback mechanism (i.e., Twitter) to worry about.