Fans finally got to hear "Stick That in Your Country Song," the single Eric Church said in a release is about "real people, real lives, real places ... from the front line to the food line."
In the new song, Church reflects on social issues that he believes should be addressed more frequently in country music, including poverty, war and underpaid, overworked teachers.
"Stick That in Your Country Song" is the first single from Church's next album.
"I’ve never had a song in my career that was a harbinger of things to come," Church explained. "And when we recorded 'Stick That in Your Country Song,' we had a booming economy and a pretty great world going on."
"And I remember thinking when I did it," he continued, "'I’m not sure how relevant it is for right now. I love the song. I love the sentiment. But I’m just not sure.'"
However, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Church said the message of "Stick That in Your Country Song" was brought into focus. It also forced him to re-think his album release plan.
"Truth be told, 100% honesty," he revealed, "I had a different single picked out as the first single. And then the world kept changing, and it kept bringing itself almost like a magnet back to this song and back to this moment."
"So, this song found itself," he added.
Fans of the song will get to see Church, 43, perform live soon. On Thursday, it was revealed that the singer would join Lady A, Ashley McBryde and Brett Eldredge, among others, for CMA's upcoming Stay-Cay event.
The fun begins July 1 on CMA's YouTube and Facebook channels at 6 p.m. ET. "CMA Best of Fest" will air on ABC on July 13 at 8 p.m. ET.