Eric Church is a country artist. He sings about love, growth, self-reflection and everything else that you’d come to expect from a country artist. But like every country music artist, he’s also patriotic.
And a patriot recognizes the flaws of his country and expects it to become better.
Much like the ragged old flag in Johnny Cash’s monologue featured here, the first step to fixing and patching up the holes is to acknowledge that there are holes in the first place.
Performing at the Academy of Country Music Awards, Eric Church felt especially solemn and patriotic for this show. He preceded his performance with Johnny Cash’s “Ragged Old Flag” speech, one about a traveling American flag that suffered just as much as the people America was built on.
Church’s new song, “Stick that In Your Country Song” is equal parts aggressive and heartfelt.
It’s got an electric guitar and backup vocals. Though it’s most significant aspect is the lyrics. Eric Church sings about the water crisis in Detroit, to the suffering state of Baltimore.
And he questions why people display the flag and pretend everything is okay. If your song bears a message, it better be a good one.
The torn, ragged, old flag that Cash spoke of is looking awfully metaphorical now, even more so than it already was. Eric Church’s song talks about why it’s better to patch up the holes first before proudly displaying it.
Who would want to display a broken, torn flag to everyone, unless you want people to see how damaged it is?
Singing his heart out, Church has the whole audience as his listeners. His band, too, is doing amazing on their own. Getting the sound to match the lyrics is no easy task, but they’ve more than delivered.
And while they may not be lyrics, the lines in Cash’s monologue are just as masterfully written. Native Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans may not share the color of their skin.
But all their blood was shed on this land, and they all shed red blood, Cash speaks.
“And on her own good land here, she’s been abused. She’s been burned, dishonored, denied, refused. And the very government for which she stands scandalized throughout the land. And she’s getting through it there. She’s wearing kinda thin, but she’s in good shape for the shape she’s in. “
Before you can tell people why they need to care about something, it’s good to start off with why it’s important and valuable to begin with.
People need to remember that this is their home.
So there’s a reason Church says “Stick That in Your Country Song”. There’s a reality that people need to face if they want things to get better. Pretending like your home is as great as a typical country song describes would be to lie, and this is how Church feels based on his lyrics.
There is a large, animated flag waving behind him while all this takes place. It’s meant to be the same one in Johnny Cash’s monologue.
It can be tempting to immerse yourself in overwhelmingly negative news. It’s hard not to these days with a new headline popping up on your newsfeed every time you log on. But people, like Eric Church, are starting to care more. And they’re starting to speak about it more.
And that’s always followed by eventual change. So instead of dooming and glooming over problems you think you can’t fix, watch Church’s performance down below and let him remind you that things aren’t so hopeless. Give this article a share too!
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