The Daily Show tries to distill Texas politics in one new song, gamely sung by Brad Paisley

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

last updated 8 January 2015

Jon Stewart and his Daily Show crew are in Austin this week, and on Tuesday's show, Stewart had a nice riff about the Texas-size "ego" that compels Texans to put the word "Texas" in everything — though to be fair, in Texas we just call Texas toast "toast." Correspondent Jason Jones tried to figure out the big political issue in Texas — and he found more than he'd bargained for. "What the f--k?" he said. "It seems like Texas is the epicenter of every national issue."

When Jones found a nurse who reminded him that Texas also had Ebola, the nurse quipped that the Lone Star State's heap of issues — border security, abortion, gun rights, gay rights, the death penalty, etc. — would make for "the world's worst country song." No, Jones replied, it's "the world's best country song." And so Jones somehow got Brad Paisley to sing his new song, "The State of Texas." A gamely annoyed Paisley reminds Jones that he's from West Virginia and lives in Nashville, but the song is still better than you'd expect from The Daily Show. Watch below, and learn. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.