Sheryl Crow has released “Freight Train”, the second song from her forthcoming album Pick You Up, due October 9, 2026.
by Paul Cashmere
Sheryl Crow has released “Freight Train”, the second track from her forthcoming 12th studio album, Pick You Up, which is scheduled for release on October 9, 2026 through Old Green Barn Productions LLC.
The slow, guitar-led song focuses on loneliness and the recognition that feelings of isolation are shared experiences rather than individual ones. Crow describes the song as a reflection on the sense of being alone even when surrounded by other people, and the understanding that such feelings eventually pass.
“So many times in my life I have felt alone, even when surrounded by people. I think we all feel that way sometimes,” Crow said. “This song is about the knowingness that we are not alone in feeling that way and that it will pass.”
“Freight Train” follows “Freedom Bus”, featuring Jesse Welles, which was released in August as the first preview of Pick You Up.
The two songs establish different perspectives for the album. “Freedom Bus” addresses freedom, division and the possibility of finding ways to live together despite political differences, while “Freight Train” moves inward, considering the shared uncertainties and private experiences that connect people.
The new song takes its central image from the sound of a freight train travelling in the distance. Crow uses that image to consider the simultaneous lives being lived in houses, cars and across the countryside, suggesting that people may be separated physically while experiencing similar emotions.
Pick You Up contains seven new songs written by Crow and longtime collaborator Jeff Trott. The album is described as returning to the adult album alternative, rock, singer-songwriter and Americana territory associated with Crow’s work in the 1990s, while addressing themes including hope and unity.
The album follows Evolution, which was released in March 2024. That record was announced shortly before Crow’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Crow’s catalogue was established during a period when rock, pop, country and Americana frequently crossed into one another. Her 1993 debut, Tuesday Night Music Club, initially took time to build an audience before “All I Wanna Do” became a major success in 1994. The album subsequently earned Crow three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Best New Artist.
Her self-titled second album followed in 1996 and produced “If It Makes You Happy” and “Everyday Is a Winding Road”. Crow produced the record herself and played multiple instruments across the sessions.
That period established a template that has remained identifiable throughout Crow’s career: rock foundations combined with elements of country, blues, folk and pop. Her later catalogue has moved between those styles, including the country-focused Feels Like Home in 2013 and the return to a 1990s-inspired sound on Be Myself in 2017.
Crow’s commercial and awards history remains substantial. She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, has won nine Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Pick You Up follows a period in which Crow had indicated that Threads, her 2019 album featuring a large roster of guest artists, could be her final album. She subsequently continued releasing music, including the 2025 singles “I Know”, “The New Normal” and “See You On The Other Side”.
With “Freight Train” now available, Pick You Up has two of its seven songs publicly released ahead of the October 9 album date. The remaining five tracks are “Perfect”, “Pick You Up”, “Flat Earth”, “I’ve Got Your Number” and “Heaven Help Us”.
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