Eric Church Reveals ‘Monsters’ Helped Him Heal After Route 91 Harvest Festival

Eric Church is opening up about a song, “Monsters,” on his recent Desperate Man album. The song, written by Church and Jeff Hyde, helped Church heal after the tragic Route 91 Harvest Festival, where Church played before the mass shooting began.

“I think ‘Monsters,’ after Vegas, became more real to me,” Church shared on social media. “A specific night I can remember going into my oldest son Boone’s room. His closet light, or one of the bathroom lights, the dimmer wasn’t right. It wasn’t bright enough and he wanted it brighter. When I went in and made it a little bit brighter, he said, ‘That’s good. That’s good. That’s perfect.’ And it wasn’t much. But that stuck with me. This is pre- writing the song. But that stuck with me that that was kind of all he needed, was more light. I got together with Jeff and we started talking about some of this stuff.”

The song, which says, “Anymore when a restless feelin’ keeps me up at night / Fallin’ on my knees is my new turnin’ on the light / I keep my faith intact, make sure my prayers are said / ‘Cause I’ve learned that the monsters ain’t the ones beneath the bed,” reminded Church of what was, and wasn’t, important to him.

“The song just happened so fast, the way songs are supposed to happen when they’re that kind of song,” Church recalled. “It just happened. It will always be a song that I think about where I was at that time in my life, where my kids were, and just how that little bit of light is what made the difference. That’s the key.”

“That’s where the second verse goes to, and the overall theme of ‘Monsters’ … It’s not a big blinding light. It’s this much light,” he added, holding a tiny space between two fingers. “It made the difference. That little nugget is what I carry with me.”

Church’s current “Desperate Man” single is the title track of his latest record, which debuted at the top of the charts. The record is Church’s first since Mr. Misunderstood was released in 2015, and became his most authentic album to date.

“It was an interesting creative process,” explained the singer. “This record was made [more] in the studio, from writing to completion, then any record we have ever made. It was really there, ’cause I wrote songs there, we change things there. I played parts there, I never played, never thought of. I think maybe it was the first album in our career that there was more creative energy in the studio than any other, because it was written, made, conceived, it was all there.”

Purchase Desperate Man at EricChurch.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Tim Mosenfelder