Eric Church Opens up About Fatherhood and Family Life

Country music superstar, Eric Church may be a busy man giving his all to fans on tour, but that doesn’t mean his family gets left behind. The singer has found just the right balance between family and career — he takes his family with him on the road.

Church, who has two sons, ages 2 and 5, told Billboard recently that while it can be a challenge, touring with his family is what he has to do.

“A 5-year-old and a 2-year-old are always going to have their challenges. But yeah, I do OK with it. They’re with me on tour, and that is such a big thing, because I’ve been around long enough to see these artists that check out for periods of their life,” he said. “I feel like it becomes harder for them to be a parent or to feel like they’re in control of their life when they’re checking in and checking out.”

Church also talked about his song “Old Testament Me.” The song didn’t make it onto Church’s most recent album, Mr. Misunderstood, but has popped up on YouTube where it’s gained popularity among fans.

“As a husband and a dad, there’s the New Testament, turn-the-other-cheek mentality, and then there’s the Old Testament way of thinking, which is saying, ‘Hey, if you mess with me, you’re going to get hurt,’” Church explained.

“I think we carry both. You don’t have to roll over and be weak. There’s so much going on in the world, with the rise in terrorism and violence. I didn’t like the way that I think a lot of people were portraying religion … that it made you soft. You were weak. If they do something to you, you have to walk away.”

Church went on to explain that the conflict between both approaches was what he was thinking about when writing the song, especially as a father.

“When you get poked really hard, you’re torn between your beliefs and how you should respond to that … I get the conflict, and that’s what I was writing about. I get it. Especially being a parent with kids.”

Photo: Twitter / @soundslikenash