50 Best Country Songs About Mental Illness
Country tracks that face the weight of the mind head on
There’s a strange heaviness that hangs in the air when the subject shifts to mental health. It’s not all hushed voices or clean-cut inspiration, sometimes it’s raw and jagged. You can be driving past open fields with the radio on and suddenly a lyric cuts right through the quiet. Country songs have a way of holding that tension in plain sight. They're not asking you to tie things up neatly, they’re sitting with the ache, letting the chord changes breathe like they know the road is long.
It’s the cracked edge in a voice that hits harder than the words. The way a pedal steel can sound like it’s crying without leaning into melodrama. These tracks land in that strange middle place where you can’t tell if you’re being comforted or confronted. They can feel like a cousin to the more exposed pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that tackle similar territory, but there’s something in the grit and drawl that shifts the weight differently. It’s not always pretty, and that’s what makes it stick.
Some of these songs were written in motel rooms between shows. Others in the quiet after a hospital visit. They carry the residue of panic, numb spells, sleepless nights, and the brief clarity that follows. They’re not background music for small talk, they demand your attention even if you’d rather look away. Here are the best country songs about mental illness.
Top 10 Mental Health Country Songs
1. 'Fire Away'—Chris Stapleton
2. 'Whiskey Lullaby'—Brad Paisley featuring Alison Krauss
3. 'War with My Mind'—Flatland Cavalry
4. 'The Night'—Morgan Wade
5. 'Anxiety'—Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
6. 'I Am Not Okay'—Jelly Roll
7. 'Committed to Parkview'—Johnny Cash
8. 'Oh, Mother'—David Nail
9. 'How Do You Get That Lonely'—Blaine Larsen
10. 'The Call'—Matt Kennon
Country Music Dealing With Inner Turmoil #11—20
11. 'Head Case'—Cody Jinks
12. 'Rainbow'—Kacey Musgraves
13. 'Good Day'—Brett Eldredge
14. 'Broken Window Serenade'—Whiskey Myers
15. 'The Rubber Room'—Porter Wagoner
16. 'The Sound of Being Alone'—Tenille Townes
17. 'Don't Cry'—Morgan Wade
18. 'Crazyland'—Eric Church
19. 'Heavy'—David Nail
20. 'Sam Stone'—John Prine
Exploring Mental Health Struggles #21—30
21. 'Livin' The Dream'—Morgan Wallen
22. 'Gave Me a Mountain'—Johnny Cash
23. 'It Ain't Yours To Throw Away'—Sam Palladio
24. 'Lessons in Depression'—James Hand
25. 'Hurt'—Johnny Cash
26. 'I've Got Wheels'—Miranda Lambert
27. 'Happy and Sad'—Kacey Musgraves
28. 'A Little Less Sad'—Blake Shelton
29. 'Tomorrow Will Be Kinder'—The Secret Sisters
30. 'The Dress'—Emily Scott Robinson
Songs About Overcoming Life's Difficulties #31—40
31. 'Better Boat'—Kenny Chesney
32. 'Put On Your Brave Face Mary'—Reckless Kelly
33. 'Where Have You Been'—Kathy Mattea
34. 'The Outside'—Taylor Swift
35. 'Give Me Back My Mind'—The Avett Brothers
36. 'The Worst Part'—Koe Wetzel
37. 'Shrinks and Pills'—Charles Wesley Godwin
38. 'The House That Built Me'—Miranda Lambert
39. 'Letter to Me'—Brad Paisley
40. 'Crazy'—Patsy Cline
Reflections on Mental Health in Music #41—50
41. 'If You're Going Through Hell'—Rodney Atkins
42. 'The World Is Not a Cold Dead Place'—Lindi Ortega
43. 'This Little Light of Mine'—Johnny Cash
44. 'If I Were the Devil'—Colter Wall
45. 'Sober'—Little Big Town
46. 'Missing You'—Tyler Hilton
47. 'The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie'—Colter Wall
48. 'Just Drive'—Little Big Town
49. 'The Long Way Home'—Gavin DeGraw
50. 'I Don't Want to Be Scared'—Tyler Hilton
© 2025 Carson McQueen
