Pulling back the curtain on one of Eric Church’s most underrated songs.
Why did Eric Church’s “Kill a Word” fly under the radar? Probably because it was released alongside so many other hits like “Mr. Misunderstood” and “Record Year” in Chief’s fan-favorite 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood. The song’s message alone, which highlights the importance of words and the power one can have by condemning hatred and evil, makes it worthy of being one of Church’s most recognizable works.
Church told Rolling Stone at the time that the song’s release was influenced by the 2016 presidential election, basically saying that he felt it was the right time to put it out:
“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.”
Seems as though it is still just as (if not more) timely.
One listen through of the track and the emotionally driven lyricism clearly communicates a wishful way of life where hateful words and the feelings they’re associated with could be eliminated. It’s a message that’s just as important almost 10 years later as it was when Church first put out the song:
“If I could kill a word and watch it dieI’d poison never, shoot goodbyeBeat regret when I felt I had the nerve
I’d pound fear to a pile of sandChoke lonely out with my bare handsI’d hang hate so that it can’t be heardIf I could only kill a word.”
And just yesterday, with once again another divisive election looming, Church and his team decided that it would be timely to re-release a video of the country music star discussing the track and what it meant to him to be a part of it. Originally recorded at the time of the song’s release, in his own words, Church said that it very well could be the smartest song he’s ever brought to life:
“‘Kill A Word’ is probably the smartest song I’ve ever been involved with. My involvement didn’t start until a little later in the song. By the time I got, Jeff Hyde and Luke Dick had pretty much gotten this thing on the tracks.
And I just thought it was so smart that you took all these words – hate words, negative words – and you talked about killing them. It was just a unique way to turn a phrase.
Just very smart and I was fired up about this one when I first heard it.”
High praise for “Kill a Word,” and it deserves every bit of it.
There’s a lot of power in the song, especially when Church has performed it live. That’s best exemplified from this version of the track, which was recorded live at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre: