Sheryl Crow Blasts Jason Aldean’s ‘Lame’ Controversial Song

Country singer Jason Aldean’s song “Try That In A Small Town” drew a scathing response from singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. Released in May, a newly posted video for the song brought attention to its lyrics, prompting backlash and cable television station CMT to pull the video.

Crow, who will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame later this year, tweeted a response to “Try That In A Small Town,” quoting a tweet from Shannon Watts, founder of the gun violence prevention organization Moms Demand Action. Watts’ tweet noted that Aldean was onstage in 2017 when a mass shooting occurred during a concert in Las Vegas resulting in the deaths of 60 people. The lyrics of “Try That In A Small Town” reference a “gun that grandad gave me” as well as perceived threats of violence to those “looking for a fight.”

Rolling Stone notes that the Shaun Silva-directed “Try That In A Small Town” video was recorded “reportedly in Columbia, Tennessee, the site of a 1933 lynching” and it is “interspersed with footage depicting protests as violent and lawless.”

“[Jason Aldean], I’m from a small town,” Crow tweeted. “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://twitter.com/SherylCrow/status/1681485292425867264

Aldean responded to the controversy surrounding “Try That In A Small Town,” giving his interpretation of the intent of the four people credited with writing the song, Kelley Lovelace, Kurt Allison, Neil Thrasher and Tully Kennedy.

“‘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 neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief,” Aldean — a native of Macon, Georgia, the state’s fourth most populous city with over 150,000 residents — stated. “Because they were our neighbors, 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 one day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to – that’s what this song is about.”