Eric Church has continued his steady release of new music, releasing the new song “Through My Ray-Bans” on Friday. The mid-tempo, piano-backed song is a celebration of live shows, with Church describing how he sees the thousands of fans that come to his concerts through the lenses of his signature Ray-Ban aviators.
“Everybody’s got their arms around everybody else’s shoulders,” he sings. “Guarding against the world outside / like an army of Friday night soldiers / The battle wages tomorrow / But tonight we’ve got a drink in our hand / Wish you could stay the way I see you through my Ray-Bans.” Church wrote “Through My Ray-Bans” with Barry Dean and Luke Laird, and Church shared on Instagram that the song was written in honor of Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival fans.
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The North Carolina native first teased the song in April at the end of a spoken word piece titled “Who Will Answer the Call?” The defiant piece was a message of hope from Church to his fans in which he declared that live shows will someday return and when they do, the crowds will be “deafening.”
“Where there once were roars, now there are just echoes. The handshakes and the hugs of yore are now too dangerous,” he began as concert footage played. “But I don’t believe in fear, I don’t believe in panic. I don’t believe in all this complexity. This damn virus has any idea what it’s up against: the American resolve: steeled by the world, steadied by faith, calmed by song, healed by prayer. Oh, I believe, damn right, I believe.”
“I believe these halls will roar again,” Church proclaimed. “These stadiums will be deafening and the answer to this enemy. The silence of now will cower at the noise of soon. When the question of who will answer this call is asked, thousands will raise their fists and say, ‘I will, we will.’ And we damn sure will. Where fear preys, we will feed. Where pestilence stalks, we will hunt. I feel for our enemy, for it has no chance, it has no prayer. And I believe, I believe our best is yet to come.”
The 43-year-old concluded his message with a nod to his sunglasses. “We shall rage, we shall roar,” he said. “I cannot wait to see you again through my Ray-Bans.” The video finished with a video of Church recording “Through My Ray-Bans” in the studio and judging by its similarity to other studio clips he has recently released, the song was written and recorded in the mountains of North Carolina early this year.
