The Carrie Underwood Song That Is Therapeutic to the Songwriter

March 2024 · 3 minute read

Carrie Underwood is a mom of two boys. In 2018, the country artist opened up about her three miscarriages — and how music became “therapeutic” to her. That’s especially true of her 2018 song “Cry Pretty,” which was inspired by traumatic events in her personal life.

Carrie Underwood says people ‘don’t really talk about’ miscarriages 

Underwood sometimes details her personal life through music, elaborating on some of her hardest moments. In 2018, Underwood revealed that she suffered three miscarriages in the span of two years — before the birth of her son Jacob. 

As noted by Hello Magazine, Underwood noted the rhetoric surrounding miscarriages, although she didn’t consider it a “dirty secret,” saying it’s something “many women go through.”

“It’s something that people don’t really talk about,” Underwood said during an interview with the Guardian. “Even people who are my friends and I know well, after I talked about it, were like, ‘My gosh, me too!’ And I feel like it’s something I should’ve known about them.”

Why Carrie Underwood describes ‘Cry Pretty’ as ‘therapeutic’ 

Music became an outlet for Underwood, with the artist describing 2018’s “Cry Pretty” as “theraputic” with regards to her experience. 

“I guess you wait for things to stop hurting at some point,” she said in the same interview. “But letting yourself go there… other people that are going through the same thing, it kind of connects you to them.”

“I will always mourn those children, those lives that were a shooting star, a breath of smoke,” Underwood added, “but I have Jacob, and he is incredible, he is the sweetest little baby. At the time, it was awful, and it still hurts, but it’s kind of like, ok, I have this.”

Underwood and her husband, former professional ice hockey player Mike Fisher, had their second child, Jacob, in 2019. Their first child, Isaiah Michael Fisher, was born in 2015. (Fans can catch a glimpse of Underwood’s family on social media.)

What is ‘Cry Pretty’ by Carrie Underwood about?

“Cry Pretty” was co-written by Underwood, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose, and Lori McKenna, with Underwood also serving as a co-producer. The 2018 track discussed Underwood hiding her emotions — or at least expressing them in a pretty, socially acceptable way. The lyrics mention lying and smiling “pretty,” by saying that everything is ok.

“Not usually the kind to show my heart to the world,” Underwood sings. “I’m pretty good at keepin’ it together / I hold my composure, for worse or for better / So I apologize, if you don’t like what you see / But sometimes my emotions get the best of me / And fallin’ apart is as human as it gets.”

“Cry Pretty” is included on the album of the same title. It became one of the most popular tracks on the collection, currently holding over 50 million Spotify plays. 

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