Sheryl Crow is sounding off.
Last week, country star Jason Aldean released the music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town”, and he’s kicked up plenty of controversy along with it.
READ MORE: Jason Aldean Responds To Claim ‘Try That In A Small Town’ Is A ‘Pro-Lynching’ Song
The single, written by Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy and Kurt Allison, contrasts the lives of people in urban and rural areas, with Aldean singing about issues such as protests against police and more.
But it’s the song’s violent, threatening lyrics that have sparked criticism and caused controversy.
“Got a gun that my granddad gave me/They say one day they’re gonna round up/Well, that s**t might fly in the city, good luck/Try that in a small town/See how far ya make it down the road,” he sings at one point.
The controversy over the song and its video, has since caused CMT to remove the video from its rotation.
On Tuesday, Crow took to Twitter to directly call out Aldean for the violent lyrics of the song.
“@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.” she wrote.
.@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.
This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame https://t.co/cuOtUO9xjr
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) July 19, 2023
“There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence,” Crow added. “You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting. This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.”
In October 2017, Aldean was on stage performing at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas when a gunman fired at the audience from a nearby hotel, killing 60 people and injuring hundreds.
Responding to the controversy around his song, Aldean wrote on Instagram, “‘Try That In a Small Town,’ for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbours, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbours, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to — that’s what this song is about.”
READ MORE: Jason Aldean’s Wife Brittany Supports Him Amid ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Backlash
Others on social have also called Aldean out over the song, as well as the imagery in the music video.
.@Jason_Aldean – who was on-stage during the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 that killed 60 people and wounded over 400 more – has recorded a song called “Try That In A Small Town” about how he and his friends will shoot you if you try to take their guns. pic.twitter.com/hWGdEgS33v
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 17, 2023
It’s funny that @Jason_Aldean is claiming now this his song is about taking care of your community. From what I know about his politics, he doesn’t believe in anything that actually does that—govt assistance for people who are struggling, universal healthcare, etc
— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers) July 19, 2023
This song is an insane dog whistle lmao anyone with any sort of media literacy can tell the lyrics describe a sundown town and that’s reinforced by one of the backgrounds in the video being the site of a black man’s lynching in the 1920s. Jason Aldean is disgusting trash https://t.co/YwzjUVW0cs
— Jacob (@oberpolitics) July 19, 2023
