Eric Church’s 2016 Hit, “Kill A Word,” Feels More Relevant Than Ever Right Now

“I’d sever ‘evil,’ let it bleed.”

Eric Church has never been one to shy away from touching on real-world topics. From his biting stance on Nashville’s disconnect from reality on “Stick That in Your Country Song” and the subtle pro-life stance on “Never Break Heart,” to his latest fears of raising his children in a world that becomes more violent by the day in the Charlie Daniels-inspired “Johnny,” the 48-year-old singer/songwriter continually delivered culturally-relevant songs in a time where mainstream artists seem to shy away from them.

It should go without saying that Church is one of the most interesting figures in the genre as a whole. Being a marijuana advocate, a gun owner and self-proclaimed “2nd Amendment guy” who has called for gun reform following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and a staunch Christian who was raised in the Baptist church, the “Springsteen” singer can only be described as a man of many layers. Apolitical in nature, he’s never described himself as a Republican or Democrat, calling the idea of picking a side “total bullsh*t” in a recent interview. All that goes to say that he’s not one to latch on to an ideology and become entrenched in the current division we’re currently seeing in the country.

Though not political in nature, the Eric Church song that has become more and more relevant as time goes on, violence spreads and political tensions continue to rise is none other than “Kill a Word.”

Appearing on his Grammy-nominated record, Mr. Misunderstood, “Kill a Word” was written by Church, Luke Dick and Jeff Hyde and served as the third single released from the album. Peaking at #6 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and #9 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, the song would eventually be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 2021 and receive a nomination for Musical Event of the Year at the 51st CMA Awards.

Given that it was released on August 29, 2016, months before the 2016 Presidential election, Church told Rolling Stone that it was the perfect time given the division that inherently comes with an election cycle:

“I would have regretted not putting out ‘Kill a Word,’ and let this season pass, not knowing if I would get a chance again where it was this relevant, this timely.”

Flash forward nine years later and song has become even more relevant unfortunately. It shouldn’t be much of a hot take that the country is more divided than ever, complete with people clinging to their respective political party with even more fervor. However, the past two years in particular have reached what can only be described as a fever point.

Beyond the then Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, coming just millimeters from his life being taken by a would-be assassin at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last July, yesterday, the highly-influential, Conservative activist and media personality, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed in cold blood at a speaking event at Utah Valley University. Meanwhile, one state over in Colorado, a high school kid pulled a revolver out on his classmates, injuring two before turning the gun on himself.

Though these two instances of political violence happened to Conservative voices, it shouldn’t be a political opinion to state that simple fact that no one should die for having opposing viewpoints. It truly doesn’t matter if you lean right, left or center, the fact that political violence is becoming this frequent in the country is a cause of concern.

It’s times like these where sometimes the only solace you can find amidst the chaos is through faith, loved ones and art. For me personally, I immediately thought of the aforementioned “Kill a Word” simply due to the title itself.

Yesterday, someone was killed for simply speaking. That’s not to say that I agree with everything Kirk had to say, far from it. With that being said, however, the simple fact of the matter is someone took it upon themselves to not proverbially kill or oppose Kirk’s viewpoint but instead took the man’s life instead, something that should not happen in a country backed by the First Amendment. And then what followed was an abhorrent display of celebration from a disgusting group of people… celebrating that a man was murdered in front of his wife and young children.

I immediately thought of third verse of “Kill a Word” where Church brilliantly contrasts violent verbs and phrases to subsequently defeat all the negative attributes listed such as “evil,” “wicked” and “vile.”

“I’d knock out ‘temptation’s’ teeth
I’d sever ‘evil,’ let it bleed
Then light up ‘wicked,’ stand and watch it burn
I’d take vice’ and I’d take ‘vile’
Tie ’em up there with ‘hostile’
Hang ’em high and leave ’em for the birds
If I could only kill a word”

Though not explicitly stated in the song itself, he touches on something that has been at the center of any successful political and non-political movement: peace. You don’t win political movements in a democratic country through violence, you win them by having the capacity to peacefully debate, converse and ultimately reason with your opponent. And that’s exactly what Charlie Kirk stood for. He once told a woman that the reason he went to colleges and universities to discuss these tough topics was because:

“When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. That’s when civil war happens. Because you start to think the other side is so evil, they lose their humanity.”

Ultimately, Church knew that it was the perfect time to release “Kill a Word” back in 2016 due to the division at the time. However, I don’t think he truly could have predicted just how relevant it would become in the following nine years.

In a time where both random and political violence is slowly becoming the new norm, I think it’s time for us to heed his warning and kill words, not each other.

Listen here:

Eric Church Tour Dates

Sept. 12 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || PPG Paints Arena || Elle King
Sept. 13 || Columbus, Ohio || Nationwide Arena || Elle King
Sept. 18 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Wells Fargo Center || Elle King
Sept. 19 || Boston, Mass. || TD Garden || Elle King
Sept. 20 || Brooklyn, N.Y. || Barclays Center || Elle King
Sept. 25 || Green Bay, Wisc. || Resch Center || Marcus King Band
Sept. 26 || Milwaukee, Wisc. || Fiserv Forum || Marcus King Band
Sept. 27 || Des Moines, Iowa || Wells Fargo Arena || Marcus King Band

Oct. 2 || Detroit, Mich. || Little Caesars Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 3 || Lexington, Ky. || Rupp Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Gainbridge Fieldhouse || Marcus King Band
Oct. 10 || Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 11 || Cleveland, Ohio || Rocket Arena || Marcus King Band
Oct. 23 || Salt Lake City, Utah || Delta Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 24 || Boise, Idaho || ExtraMile Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Oct. 25 || Spokane, Wash. || Spokane Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin

Nov. 6 || Vancouver, B.C. || Rogers Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 7 || Portland, Ore. || Moda Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 8 || Seattle, Wash. || Climate Pledge Arena || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 13 || Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 14 || Fresno, Calif. || SaveMart Center || Charles Wesley Godwin
Nov. 15 || Inglewood, Calif. || Intuit Dome || Charles Wesley GodwinThe post Eric Church’s 2016 Hit, “Kill A Word,” Feels More Relevant Than Ever Right Now first appeared on Whiskey Riff.