It’s been nine days since Charlie Kirk‘s assassination, and the senseless tragedy continues to reverberate throughout the culture. Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC show has been indefinitely suspended over statements he made early in the week about the gunman’s supposed political leanings, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution creating a “National Day of Rembrance” for Kirk on Oct. 14, and a public funeral will take place Sept. 21 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale with President Trump, Vice President Vance, Tulsi Gabbard, Tucker Carlson, Marco Rubio, and many others.
There has also been a flood of songs memorializing Kirk that have racked up huge numbers online. Two of them are even floating near the top of the iTunes Top Songs chart, and new ones are popping up on YouTube and TikTok seemingly every minute. They don’t stick to a single genre, they vary wildly in tone a and message, and they were all written and recorded just within the past few days. Here’s a look at four of the most prominent ones. (There are also a ton of fake songs, most likely generated by AI, falsely credited to artists like Eminem and Ed Sheeran. Be warned.)
“How Dare They (For Charlie) (Diesel 1970 Remix)”
Artist: Daryl Johnson, a.k.a. Diesel. In his YouTube bio, Johnson describes himself as a “Proud Redneck. Hard workin’. God fearin’. Southern born and raised. I write music for real Americans — the ones who bust their knuckles, raise their kids right, and don’t back down from truth.” Prior to this song, Diesel had a pretty minuscule following on YouTube, and most of his songs were heard by just about 100 people each. But this one struck a real nerve, and it has topped the iTunes Top Songs chart. (That doesn’t mean what it meant 15 years ago, but it’s still an impressive feat for an unknown artist.)
Message: In a mixture of sorrow and rage, Diesel mourns Kirk’s death and points his finger at the left.
Key Lyric: “They call us evil/Point at our cross/Then pull that trigger and reckon no cost/If it were theirs, there’d be sirens in flames.”
“Charlie”
Artist: Tom MacDonald. He’s A Canadian rapper and former professional wrestler with strong ties to the MAGA movement. His 2021 single “Fake Woke” landed in the the Hot 100, and his 2021 song “Facts,” which takes on abortion, gun control, and the Black Lives Matter movement, featured a guest appearance by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. His new song “Charlie” has been played nearly 8.5 million times on YouTube.
Message: Much like “How Dare They (For Charlie),” he centers his anger around a collective “they” who he feels killed Kirk and reveled in his death, even saying “woke people are the terrorists.” MacDonald imagines Kirk looking down from a window in Heaven as his children grow up, and the right unites to avenge his death.
Key Lyric: “And we ain’t backin’ off or givin’ up, I’ll preach what you taught me/They may have killed a soldier, but that man had an army/This is far more deep than some political parties/And you can’t kill freedom, so this one is for Charlie.”
“Not in Vain (A Tribute to Charlie Kirk)”
Artist: AMiYAH. They call themselves a “mostly Korean K-pop girl group blending heartfelt faith with chart-ready sound.” The group has 22,400 TikTok followers, but a tiny YouTube following of just 3,320 YouTube subscribers. “Not in Vain (A Tribute to Charlie Kirk)” is their first song to make a real impact. It’s at Number 32 on the iTunes chart. (It’s also worth noting that this group’s videos often resemble AI-generated content, though at press time it wasn’t clear if this was the case.)
Message: The song focuses on Kirk’s religious convictions and paints him as a martyr. The joyful tune avoids assigning blame to the left, and doesn’t touch on the political divide in America or the MAGA movement.
Key Lyric: “Not in vain not in vain/Every martyr speaks His name/Though this world may look away/Heaven opened wide today.”
“Charlie”
Artist: Jesse Welles. He’s a folk singer who has taken on ICE, the healthcare industry, and the opioid epidemic in his songs. Welles has opened up for Greta Van Fleet and Rival Sons, played at Farm Aid and Newport Folk Festival, and even duetted with John Fogerty. Dave Matthews called him “one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard in my life.” His songs have a clear progressive perspective, but he tries to avoid taking about politics, “I think a lot of us are politically homeless,” he told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “We’ve been orphaned, and it’s likely that we have been since before I was born.”
Message: Wells laments the sorrowful state of America in the aftermath of Kirk’s murder, and fears it’ll kickstart a horrific cycle of violence. He ends by reminding everyone celebrating on the left that “It coulda been me/It coulda been you.”
Key Lyric: “Well you can’t hate the gun and love the gun that shot your rival/You can’t be kind and wish hate upon a child.”
