Ray Stevens scores one of his biggest-ever hits with anti-illegal immigration song
Wherever you come down on Arizona’s illegal immigration controversy, at least we can agree on one thing: It’s pretty amazing that Ray “The Streak” Stevens is still putting out albums. The (primarily) novelty songwriter is experiencing a renaissance of late after taking a decidedly political turn with this year’s We The People, a 22-track collection of tunes like “Throw The Bums Out!” (a response to the passage of health care reform) and “Caribou Barbie” (which pokes fun at Sarah Palin, before advocating that voters consider her for president in 2012) that have made him a favorite of Tea Party types. Still, none have garnered more attention than “Come To The USA,” for obvious reasons.
The illegal immigration-themed ditty—in which Stevens illustrates all the “public housing and cable TV / And food stamps and even government cheese” waiting for outsiders in America, while contrasting them against the penalties they’d receive in other countries—has become a huge hit among those who support the Arizona bill, with its recently released video racking up millions of hits on YouTube and landing Stevens an interview on FOX News today, where he told anchor Megyn Kelly, “I’m a concerned citizen. I think the country’s going down the tubes because of a whole bunch of bad decisions made by our politicians. I applaud the governor of Arizona so much for coming out and taking a stand on this. Don’t get me wrong. I’m for legal immigration 100 percent. But illegal anything, I’m not for; especially to the extent that illegal immigration has gotten out of control. It scares me, and it’s gonna really hurt the fabric of the country. It’s absurd that anyone would oppose this law.”
Again, whatever your opinion on illegal immigration, it’s probably not as catchy as this. (And you also might want to consider getting some funny hats.)