Embattled country star Mindy McCready dead at 37 of apparent suicide

(CNN) -- They seemed so triumphant at the time: the lyrics to country music star Mindy McCready's hope-filled title track to her most-recent album "I'm Still Here."

Now, those words sound like a cry for help.

"On a cold dark cloud, with nowhere to fall but down, like a single, naked, unrelenting tear ... I'm still here."

On Sunday, McCready, whose turbulent personal life overshadowed her music, was found dead on the front porch of her Arkansas home -- the victim, authorities said, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

She was 37.

McCready leaves behind two boys -- a 6-year-old and a 10-month-old.