Sheryl Crow Debuts an Emotional New Song on the Sandy Hook School Shooting's 5th Anniversary

[MUSIC] The video we're shooting today is for Love is Free which is obviously, inspired by New Orleans. We're outside of New Orleans and we're on a, like a little bayou out here. And it feels very much like what it must of felt like when it was, when it was flooded. When you see these characters as you're rolling by on the boat. I think all of us sat back as a nation and watched the disgrace of how the whole catastrophe was handled. And what really struck me about it, is the stoicism of the New Orleans people. I came down and got to see a lot of how it looked then which was clearly a year and a half later and not so much was happening. You could tell it was going really slowly, but people felt very optimistic. They seem to be very spiritually based and they're, they're not gonna give up. They're gonna rebuild and So the song is really about that. It's about stoicism. It's about the fact that at the end of the day at least we have each other and we have people who support us and love us and we press through. [MUSIC] The look for this video is basically clothes I would normally wear. And I have naturally curly hair so we're just going for the natural look. I like to wear like jeans and leathers and like a cool vest. The best fashion advice I've ever received for the red carpet is to make sure you feel comfortable in the clothes you are wearing and that they represent who you are. Sometimes you step out on a limb because you think it's kind of a cool looking outfit and it just doesn't fit your personality and it doesn't. It winds up wearing you. I'm so, happy to be back in New Orleans. It feels so great. I, I'm always astounded at how un, unbelievably soulful the people in New Orleans are and it just felt really, it feels really nice to be back down here after having done my second record here. It's just such a special place. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]

Sheryl Crow is known for using music as a way to talk about difficult subjects and she proved that once again on Monday with the release of an emotionally charged new song called "The Dreaming Kind." The tune pays tribute to the 26 children and adults who lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary, five years after the school shooting.

"The Dreaming Kind" honors them while also raising awareness for Sandy Hook Promise, a foundation led by several of the families who lost loved ones during the Newtown, Conn., mass shooting that aims to reduce gun violence and prevent gun-related deaths.

“When Sandy Hook happened, we knew it was a life-changing moment where we were going to address the idea that not everyone should be approved to own a gun, especially military-style weaponry and yet, nothing happened,” Crow told People. “At some point, the alarm clock has to go off and we have to wake up.”

Crow said the new song came together after she chose to work with Sandy Hook Promise to work for better gun regulation with regard to mental health.

“It seemed to give purpose to my writing,” she said.

This project and purpose isn't something she's tackling alone. Her 12-year-old niece Ava lends her voice to the song and asks, “Could you imagine it / if love was blind / If on this earth everybody was kind.”

RELATED: Sheryl Crow on the Simple Change That Transformed Her Life

Crow's nephews Bradley, 19, and Chase, 17, Crow sing on the chorus, and Sheryl said she will be explaining the purpose of the song to her own kids, Wyatt, 10, and Levi, 7.

“I’m going to have to explain to them that at school, before this, it was a place you went that was safe,” she said. “I’m sure it will be a conversation that we will continue to have for as long as this is happening.”

If you want to support the Sandy Hook Promise and Crow's message, you can download the song here for any price you name, or donate to Sandy Hook Promise's website directly.