Sheryl Crow has released a song called “I Know” this May for National Mental Health Awareness Month. It is an empathetic offering to help people haunted by life's harder mental realities. “Why do certain questions hurt?
Seems to tear your soul apart,” she sings gently over strummed acoustic guitar. Her simple but important message in the song is, “I know how it feels,” making her listeners feel less alone and more understood.
It comes just following threats that she has received online because she sold her Tesla in protest against Elon Musk's controversial work with DOGE, and there has been a lot of hostility in her direction of late, including an armed intruder on her property.
Sheryl Crow is there for you and wants you to be there for each other
Talented songwriters who tap into the collective consciousness are already well prepared to deal with the thoughts and feelings of their listeners, and this is by far not the first song that Sheryl Crow has written that gets into the hearts and minds of hurting people.
She says she was particularly inspired by the mental health organization, To Write Love On Her Arms. This social media presence helps people who struggle with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. In particular, she was touched by their initiative, Disconnect to Reconnect, which encourages people to take a break from the internet to engage with nature, family, friends, and music.
It is a stand-alone single that follows her latest complete album offering, Evolution, which deals with the threat of AI to artists and all thinking and feeling people. On her “Deluxe” addition, she covers Peter Gabriel’s “Digging In The Dirt,” one of the most powerful mental health songs ever written, with Gabriel accompanying her on the song.
Sheryl Crow is known for her fun songs, like “All I Wanna Do” and “If It Makes You Happy,” but she is also an intelligent and caring songwriter who sometimes deals with the more complicated realities of life. She utilizes her masterclass abilities in songwriting to relate compassionately with her listeners.
She encourages people to give to organizations like To Write Love On Her Arms, because sometimes the mental health costs can be too high for people seeking psychological assistance.
But her song, like so much good music out there, from Pink Floyd to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, offers the therapeutic message many people might need to hear. “And maybe I could hold your hand / and count the teardrops as they flow / and promise never to let go.”
Music has always been a companion to the disturbed and suffering, and this beautiful song, which comes from a heartfelt place, is sure to provide comfort to many people in need.