Hank Williams Jr. performs his song “McCain-Palin Tradition” at a rally in Richmond, Va.

…and my ears aren’t too happy either. Anyway, if this song sounds familiar it’s because it’s Williams’ 1979 song, Family Tradition with different lyrics. Mostly, because the original lyrics said stuff like this:

Lordy, I have loved some ladies
and I have loved Jim Beam
and they both tried to kill me
in 1973
when that doctor asked me
Son how did you get in this condition
I said hey sawbones I’m just carryin on
an old family tradition

Ahhh…lovin’ the ladies and Jim Beam. Sounds pretty good to me. But since the song is now an homage to the McCain/Palin ticket, Williams changed up the lyrics. What was once a great country song about debauchery now contains words and phrases like maverick, left-wing-liberal, Alaska as well as my personal favorite, radical friends to whom their careers are linked. Interestingly, when the lyrics to the song were distributed to the crowd following the rally, the line about radical friends was omitted. Here’s a sample of the new lyrics:

The democrats bankrupted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Like 1-2-3
The bankers didn’t want to make all those bad loans
Bill Clinton said “you got to!”
Now they wanna bail out
what I’m talking about
Is a democrat liberal hoodoo!
To me and you
John and Sarah tell you just what they think
And they’re not gonna blink
They’re gonna fix this country, cuz they’re just like you and ol Hank

Liberal hoodoo? Oh how the mighty have fallen. Anyway, Williams will also perform the song at a Palin rally in North Carolina on Thursday.