This Town Is Begging Lil Nas X Fans To Stop Stealing ‘Old Town Road’ Street Signs

Officials in a small, wealthy US town are begging Lil Nas X fans to stop stealing their ‘Old Town Road’ sign, saying it might sound ridiculous, but it could be a matter of life or death.

As reported by local rag the Wellesley Report, the ‘Old Town Road’ signpost has been taken three times from the Massachusetts town since the song took off on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. And it’s been such a logistical nightmare, local authorities are now waiting for the hype to fade before they replace it again.

“The behaviour is likely the work of individuals playing pranks, but it costs the town a lot of time and money to locate, repair — and where the signs and posts are damaged — replace, and reinstall the signs,” says an official.

Often, the sign posts have also been stolen — and Wellesley estimates that it costs about US $900 to replace a single sign, given labour costs. They’re also pretty worried about the role the missing sign could have on first responders, saying that the missing sign could delay emergency response teams.

“[It] could mean life or death for someone in need,” they told the Wellesley. “I know it sounds dramatic, but it’s a very real and frightening possibility.”

It’s far from the first time ‘Old Town Road”s success has created a headache for a town. Back in May, police in a sleepy New Hampshire town asked people to stop filming videos of themselves riding down their Old Town Road on horses, though later clarified it was a joke after their Facebook comments became inundated with Lil Nas’ anti-authority lyric, “can’t nobody tell me nothing”.

‘Old Town Road’, meanwhile, continues to hold the reins with the #1 spot on the US Billboard Charts for an 18th week in a row — even after breaking the record last week.