Sheryl Crow has some thoughts about Jason Aldean’s new song.
The “If It Makes You Happy” singer called out the lyrics to Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” which has received online backlash due to its subject matter and music video.
“I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence,” Crow tweeted Tuesday night. “There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.”
Aldean was performing at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas when a shooter opened fire from a corner suite at the Mandalay Bay resort, killing 58 people and injuring more than 500.
The music video for the track features footage from protests, break-ins, surveillance cameras and other interactions between civilians and law enforcement. Critics say the video — reportedly filmed at the site of a notorious lynching — employs lynching imagery and sentiment.
Aldean labeled allegations that the song or video made references to lynching or that it is racially charged as “meritless” and “dangerous.”
“There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it – and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far,” he tweeted.
Lyrics for the song include: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that s— might fly in the city, good luck / Well, try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own.”
Aldean’s wife, Brittany Aldean, voiced support for her husband on Instagram following the backlash.
“Never apologize for speaking the truth,” she captioned a photo of the couple sharing an intimate moment at the beach.
Crow, who would go on to call Aldean’s tune “not American or small town-like,” has been a longtime proponent of gun safety.
After the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the “Strong Enough” artist wrote a tribute for the slain and urged politicians to stop sharing messages of sympathy and start passing gun-control measures.
In April, Crow, along with many other Nashville musicians, petitioned the Tennessee legislature to pass common sense gun laws after the mass shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School.
“Gun violence in Tennessee is not inevitable,” the group wrote. “We are not hopeless, and we will not accept inaction. This does not have to be our normal and we ask that you stand with us! We know that gun safety laws work. Policies like extreme risk protection laws and secure storage of firearms can save lives.”
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