The lyrics to Kane Brown and Jelly Roll’s new song find them battling depression today. “Haunted” features both men considering a death by suicide, or at the very least, not making it through the night.

Both of these artists have shared how they struggle with mental health in the present tense, and — to varying degrees — they’ve each alluded to struggles as children, too.

Brown’s story is unique, however: It’s proof that even if you’re not struggling with depression, you could very well be affected by it.

Whenever we talk about Kane Brown, where he came from needs to be top of mind. As you’ll see here, that story is still actively being told.

Kane Brown and Jelly Roll, “Haunted” Lyrics:

Each verse of “Haunted” acknowledges that Brown and Jelly Roll have more than most, but no amount of fame or fortune immunizes a person from mental health struggles.

“Waking up in cold sweats / California king beds / Got the diamond ring set / Shoes that ain’t released yet,” Brown begins before a chorus that pulls no punches.

“‘Cause I’m haunted by the voice in my head / I’m haunted by the taste of that lead / I wanted too many times to jump off of the edge / Thinkin’ I was better off dead.” 

Fans know that Brown has included dark country lyrics on each of his albums, but these autobiographical cuts are usually left as album tracks. It’s stunning by how willing he is to talk about them. Kane is shy, but not afraid.

As a child, Brown says he could stay busy enough to escape dark thoughts, but his mother and little brother weren’t so lucky. Both were prescribed medication.

“It just got really bad,” he tells ToC. “I ended up having to leave my house when I was 17 and then keep myself going to high school.”

After his senior year, Brown didn’t have the credits he needed, so he had to advocate for himself to be allowed to stay another year. “I literally went back in to my old high school and begged my principal to let me stay and get my diploma,” he recalls.

“I didn’t know what my life was gonna be, where I was gonna work because all I remember was them saying, ‘You’re not gonna be able to get a job if you don’t graduate from high school.’ I was freaking out.”

You don’t need to be a behaviorist to understand how chaos in the home can lead to poor performance in school. Add in poverty and a father behind bars and Brown’s story begins to look like that of so many who have slipped between the cracks.

At 21, two years out of high school, Brown began to release covers of classic country songs on Facebook, and he was signed to a record deal two years later. No, he’s not an independent artist, but you’ll have a hard time finding another star who overcame bigger obstacles alone.

In 2025, he’s looking to be a dependable resource for anyone who needs to talk about their well-being, especially family. Both his mother and little brother are in a much better spot these days, and even if he’s “haunted,” he’s not alone.

Releasing “Haunted” to radio would be a natural next step, and Brown all but committed to doing that, perhaps after “Backseat Driver” peaks.

Self-Promotional Social Media Moment of the Week:

George Strait says his cure for a hangover is menudo, and we had so many questions, starting with, “George Strait is still partying so hard he’s hungover?”

Taste of Country Mornings host Wood is from the Midwest and did not know what menudo is (It’s sort of a Mexico into Texas thing). So, as part of his weekly tour of food related to country music, we convinced him to give it a try.

It … didn’t go well:

Future of Country Music

Lee Brice’s 2025 You, Me and My Guitar Tour starts this week. He also dropped a new song called “Cry” and it’s my favorite kind of Lee Brice song. He’s got a huge voice, but when he holds back and lets a groovy arrangement lead, it always works best for me.

Morgan Wallen, Kip Moore and Randy Travis also dropped new songs, but the most unexpected song is Rascal Flatts’ duet with the Jonas Brothers. Jay DeMarcus tells us that the JoBros actually reached out to them, leading to their partnership.

Dan + Shay co-wrote “I Dare You,” and fans can expect to hear it on Rascal Flatts’ 2025 tour. We’ve got quite a bit more coming from that interview next week on the Taste of Country Nights: On Demand podcast. Anytime you get one member of a band to talk (versus the full group), it’s always a huge win.