Kids sing 'Old Town Road' to officer on horse in Atlanta park

ATLANTA -- Can't nobody tell them nothing!

A tender moment unfolded between a group of kids in Atlanta and a mounted patrol unit this week as the kids broke into song, serenading the officers with an enthusiastic rendition of Atlanta native Lil Nas X's hit song "Old Town Road."

Atlanta Police Department Mounted Commander Lt. Greg Lyon and his colleagues happened upon the children at Grant Park while out on patrol on the city's east side. The kids, who were swimming in the public pool, danced and sang to Lyon and his horse through the fence. Lyon shot video on his phone and eventually joined in.

"Thanks to the kids for cheering us on. We are going to ride 'til we can't no more!" the police department said in an Instagram post in a reference to the song's lyrics.

The wildly popular country-rap song evokes cowboy imagery, with Lil Nas X singing as he prepares to "take my horse to the old town road." In an interview with the New York Times, Lil Nas X said he wrote the song to reflect uncertainty about his future after he dropped out of college.

"I felt like a loner cowboy," he told the paper. "I wanted to take my horse to the Old Town Road and run away. The horse is like a car. The Old Town Road, it's like a path to success. In the first verse, I pack up, ready to go."

In spite of early controversy about how Billboard would classify the song, "Old Town Road" has gone on to become a chart-topper since its December 2018 release. A remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and Top Hip-Hop/R&B Songs charts.