Hank Williams Offers a Rebuttal in Song

How does a country singer react after being fired from his longtime N.F.L. gig?

He sings.

The musician Hank Williams Jr., whose song was the introduction to “Monday Night Football” for 23 seasons, was dismissed last week by ESPN after he made an analogy mentioning Hitler in a comment about President Obama during an appearance on the talk show “Fox and Friends.” On Monday, he answered back.

Williams posted a remix on YouTube of his song “Keep the Change,” whose title mocks President Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan, “Change We Can Believe In.” In it, he calls the United States the United Socialist States of America and says Fox News played a “gotcha game.”

“This country’s sure as hell goin’ down the drain,” the refrain goes. “We know what we need. We know who to blame. United Socialists States of America, how do ya like that name?”

I’ll keep the U-S-A and y’all can keep the change.”

ESPN dropped Williams’s performance of the theme song, “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Monday Night,” which ends with, “Are you ready for some football?” He was replaced Monday night by Barry Sanders, the former Detroit Lions running back, who will narrate the Monday night pregame show for the remainder of the season.

In his song, Williams advised his “rowdy friends” to stop watching Fox and ESPN. He’s also selling “Hank Williams Jr. for President” T-shirts.

On ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, Williams, 62, was unapologetic. He said Obama was “the enemy” and defended the Hitler comment as an “analogy.” ESPN, he said, was “stepping on the toes of free speech.” And referring to the network’s parent company, Disney, by one of its popular characters, he said, “Mickey is a mean mouse.”