Format Digital download Length 3:20 | Genre Country Label EMI Nasvhille | |
Released August 29, 2016 (2016-08-29) Writer(s) Eric Church
Luke Dick
Jeff Hyde | ||
"Kill a Word" is a song by American country music artist Eric Church, with American musician Rhiannon Giddens. It was released to radio on August 29, 2016 as the third single from his fifth studio album, Mr. Misunderstood. It was written by Church, Luke Dick, and Jeff Hyde.
Contents
Content
The song is about the power and importance of words, and wanting to "kill" words with negative meanings, such as "hate." The album version features Andrea Davidson and Rhiannon Giddens, the latter a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, on backing vocals. For the single edit, Giddens sings some lines of the song by herself.
Church told Rolling Stone that the 2016 presidential election was influential in picking "Kill a Word" as a single: "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."
Music video
The music video was directed by Shaun Silva and premiered on CMT, GAC, & VEVO in 2016.
Critical reception
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country wrote that "Soulful production and the addition of Rhiannon Giddens gives [sic] a more casual listener something to enjoy if he or she chooses not to dive into Church’s statement." Giving it an "A", Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe wrote that "Songs that aim for utopia usually stumble along the way because they are either too preachy or too woefully naive. Church avoids this trap by zeroing in on the obstacles rather than the goal, and personalizes the proceedings by tackling what gets in the way of individual pursuit of happiness."
Commercial performance
The song debuted on the Country Airplay chart at No. 58 for the chart dated September 10, 2016, and entered the Hot Country Songs chart three weeks later at No. 41. The song has sold 183,000 copies in the United States as of March 2017.