Sheryl Crow, hailing from a small town herself, has joined the conversation by calling out Jason Aldean over accusations that his song “Try That in a Small Town” promotes violence. In a tweet directed at her colleague, Crow expressed her disappointment, stating, “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.”
Continuing her criticism, Crow added, “This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.” She also shared a tweet that mentioned Aldean’s involvement in a mass shooting in 2017 during a performance in Las Vegas. The tragic incident claimed the lives of 60 people and left over 400 concertgoers injured.
Meanwhile, Aldean’s music video for “Try That in a Small Town” has been pulled from CMT programming due to the backlash it received. The video featured the singer performing in front of a courthouse infamous for its history of lynchings.
The song’s lyrics include lines such as “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up, yeah, ya think you’re tough, well, try that in a small town, see how far ya make it down the road.” In another part of the song, Aldean sings, “got a gun that my granddad gave me, they say one day they’re gonna round up, well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.”
Aldean has denied that his song promotes lynching and argues that there is no mention of race in the lyrics. He also claims that all video clips used in the song are real news footage. However, critics argue that the song goes too far.
In response, Aldean took to Twitter to explain that the song reflects the sense of community he experienced while growing up, where neighbors took care of each other regardless of their differences in background or beliefs. He emphasized that unity and compassion were more important than any divisions.
