Eric Church’s New Song Hits Home
When I got up this morning and was starting the process of what to share with you today here, I came across an ad for a “new” single from Eric Church. The quotes are there because I first heard this song-and saw the video-some two years ago. For some reason though, this didn’t register with me at first (I’ll blame the lack of coffee at this point), so I set about checking it out. And I’m so glad I did. There are certain artists that I always associate with various points in our career. For example, I hadn’t been doing country music on the radio for more than two months when I met (and had to help load the van after the show for) Garth Brooks. His first single was in the 40s at the time on the charts. Moving to Charlotte in the spring of 2006, our new life here coincided with the start of Eric Church’s career. One can make a good argument that no artist has been more consistently brilliant or successful over that time than “Chief.” It is those last 16 years of music and my life that I was forced to reflect on as I hit play on “Doing Life With Me” this morning.
So much of this song speaks to and for me. It is a very personal song-obviously-for Eric as it tells of his life as an artist and those who’ve supported him through it. However, like most great songs, you don’t have to be the singer in the story to have its message resonate. I’ve put lyrics below with the chorus in bold/Italics for you. I’m going to be thinking about these words for the rest of the day.
It ain’t easy putting up with
A road dog with a cup with
A little Jack in it
You talk about the backseat
I don’t know, don’t ask me
How she sat in it
She carried my burdens and paid my bail
Put a Tennessee breeze in my Carolina sail
And set me free
I don’t pray much anymore
For this old troubadour’s
Happiness, wishes, wants, and needs
End of my ropes, hopes and dreams
Spend my living giving thanks
For the ships I never sank
Every big, every little in the every day things
The notes and the words and the songs I sing
To the ones doing life with me
Coulda easily said goodbye to
This runaway train you’re tied to
I know I don’t get it
Baby how you roll with it
The fists and the fights and the scars of the battle
The ups and the downs of the judges gavel
How’d you wind up in my unravel?
I don’t pray much anymore
For this old troubadour’s
Happiness, wishes, wants, and needs
End of my ropes, hopes and dreams
Spend my living giving thanks
For the ships I never sank
Every big, every little in the every day things
The notes and the words and the songs I sing
To the ones doing life with me
You’re my faith in the grace every sunrise brings
Set me free
I don’t pray much anymore
For this old troubadour’s
Happiness, wishes, wants, and needs
End of my ropes, hopes and dreams
Spend my living giving thanks
For the ships I never sank
You’re my faith in the grace every sunrise brings
Every big, every little in the every day things
The notes and the words and the songs I sing
To the ones doing life with me
And this isn’t the first time I’ve felt like Eric Church’s music spoke for me. Far from it. Another occasion came with this song, that a lot of people haven’t heard as it is an album cut that was never played on the radio from his second album, “Carolina.” I’ve never been blessed with the words to say to my wife that Eric gave on “You Make It Look So Easy.”
