Sheryl Crow Responds to Jason Aldean's Controversial New Song: 'Small Towns Are Sick of Violence'

Sheryl Crow is speaking out about Jason Aldean’s controversial new song “Try That in a Small Town”

On Tuesday, the singer-songwriter, 61, hit out at Aldean over his new track — which has lyrics including “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/Try that in a small town — in a candid Twitter post.

“@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence,” Crow wrote.

“There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence," she 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.” 

The "All I Wanna Do" singer has been a vocal advocate for stricter gun control measures and in March performed at a vigil for victims of the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, where three staff members and three students were killed.

Her Tuesday comments also came as a reply to a Twitter post from anti-gun violence activist Shannon Watts, who had shared the lyrics to the song and pointed out that Aldean, 46, “was on-stage during the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 that killed 60 people and wounded over 400 more.” 

The controversial song has received widespread backlash since its July 14 release, with Crow's comments joining those of outraged social media users who accused Aldean of being pro-gun. Others have also accused him of being racist.

On Tuesday, the “Try That in a Small Town” singer shared a lengthy statement on social media where he explained what the song meant to him and why he finds the accusations "dangerous."

"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 on Twitter.

"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," he continued.

Aldean also noted that he was present during a 2017 mass shooting: "As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91 - where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart."

To Aldean, "Try That in a Small Town" is about "the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief."

"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 a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to - that’s what this song is about," he concluded.