If you ask any artist or country fan why they listen to country music, usually they'll say it’s because of the lyrics. They love country music because it tells real-life stories. On country radio, it's often difficult to find stories of real life. It's easy to hear stories of flirtations and of trucks, but story songs haven't necessarily been radio-friendly in recent years. But country music still is and always will be about real life. Kelleigh Bannen's new single "Church Clothes" is a country song at its best.
If country music is about real life, then I suppose real life is about summer nights, if you only listen to mainstream country. But life isn't about tailgating. Life isn't all about the fun moments. It's important to capture those moments, and to understand how precious they can be, but if you're a country artist who only sings about the good times, you're not telling the whole story. It becomes almost like Instagram, or other social media where you only present the best parts of your life to the world. From looking at social media, it mostly looks like people have easy lives. But what about the parts of life that people hide from Instagram, from each other? We all live these public lives, even us non-celebrities, that for the most part force us to put our best foot forward at all times. Put on our makeup and our church clothes, even when we feel like curling up on the couch with ice cream and crying. That in itself makes us all feel alone. No one talks about their problems, and so we all feel like we are suffering by ourselves.
Kelleigh Bannen's "Church Clothes," written by Liz Rose and Nicolle Galyon, is a song that speaks about what's beyond the surface. The truth that we don't talk about. In the situation of this song, it's a relationship that's slowly breaking down, and the couple is forced to pretend they're doing fine. The lyrics are carefully chosen and put together, so even if you don't go to church, even if you don't dress up often, we all understand the feeling of acting like we're fine even when we're far from it. But lyrics are only words if not for a singer. Bannen didn't write the song, but it sure sounds like she did. Emotion pours out of every word, every note. At some points, the gravely sound in her voice peeks through more than other times, as if she's having trouble singing the song without getting emotional. In the second verse, when she sings, "I'm thinking how I can't go on," it sounds like she really can't. The delivery is as strong as the lyrics.
This is more than just a song. It's a social statement. It reveals the truths that most of us attempt to forget. It allows us to understand each other more. For anyone struggling in life right now, this song is for you. It's here to remind you that life is hard, and even though it doesn't seem like it, everyone else's life is hard as well. You are not alone.
Overall rating: 5 crowns
Kelleigh Bannen's "Church Clothes," written by Liz Rose and Nicolle Galyon, is a song that speaks about what's beyond the surface. The truth that we don't talk about. In the situation of this song, it's a relationship that's slowly breaking down, and the couple is forced to pretend they're doing fine. The lyrics are carefully chosen and put together, so even if you don't go to church, even if you don't dress up often, we all understand the feeling of acting like we're fine even when we're far from it. But lyrics are only words if not for a singer. Bannen didn't write the song, but it sure sounds like she did. Emotion pours out of every word, every note. At some points, the gravely sound in her voice peeks through more than other times, as if she's having trouble singing the song without getting emotional. In the second verse, when she sings, "I'm thinking how I can't go on," it sounds like she really can't. The delivery is as strong as the lyrics.
This is more than just a song. It's a social statement. It reveals the truths that most of us attempt to forget. It allows us to understand each other more. For anyone struggling in life right now, this song is for you. It's here to remind you that life is hard, and even though it doesn't seem like it, everyone else's life is hard as well. You are not alone.
Overall rating: 5 crowns
Photo by Carlos Ruiz // Click on this image to purchase "Church Clothes."
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