I believe this song gets lots of criticism because it seems to be against America. However, that's not the case. Billy Joe even said that it was meant to be a wake up call to explain what is wrong with our country. He has the right to express his opinion on these issues, right? When he says, "F**k America... " he's not wanting to do anything bad! America is f**ked up already, and he's pointing that out!

To me, at first, this song was story about an insecure man. When he says, "Do you have the time to listen to me whine..." He might be scared that what he is saying sounds like he is whining. He then confused us (or at least me) with the lyric "Am I just stoned?" With that said, this song could possibly take on quite a few meanings. He might be stoned, he might be scared that people won't like him for talking so much. He might just be paranoid, as he guessed. With all this in mind, the song is definitely up for argument as far as the meanings. In my theatre class, I've learned that there is always no gray area between what you've done on stage, and what the audience perceived. In conclusion, I'm trying to say that whatever you got out of this song is what you should take out. Not anyone's opinion... I hope that helps for some of you!