Sheryl Crow chimed in on the controversy over Jason Aldean's song "Try That in a Small Town" and its music video on Tuesday (July 18) while focusing on lyrics that reference guns.
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"I'm from a small town," Crow wrote on Twitter. "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."
Crow's Tweet was a response to similar criticism of Aldean from Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand— a grassroots organization which, per its Twitter bio, "[demands] reasonable solutions to address our nation's culture of gun violence."
"[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," Watts 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
Elements of the song's video, including its filming location and use of stock footage from protests outside of the US, have been scrutinized, prompting Aldean to Tweet a lengthy statement.
"In the past 24 hours, I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests," Aldean wrote. "These references are not only meritless but 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."
The native of Macon, Ga. —population 150,000+— added that "'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."
