Listen to Eric Church’s New Single, ‘Desperate Man’

Eric Church has officially returned with new music, with the country star’s new single, “Desperate Man,” available to the public as of Friday, July 13.

The song was originally released to members of Church’s Church Choir fan club on July 12, with the singer announcing his upcoming album, Desperate Man, on the same day.

“Desperate Man” was co-written by Church with Ray Wylie Hubbard and was produced by Jay Joyce. The Southern rock-inspired song is classic Church, starting with a guitar riff before Church’s distinctive voice kicks in to deliver lyrics like “I’ve seen the Joshua Tree / Got down on my knees / Threw the Virgin Mother a prayer.”

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Church revealed that the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas in October had a huge impact on him creatively and inspired his album’s title track.

“I was a little lost for a while. I think like a lot of people I was in a little bit of a funk after something like that,” the 41-year-old said. “I was still a little burned out. A little bit going through the motions. I think that’s part of what happened when I first went into the studio, is I still wasn’t quite ready to get there.”

Church performed at the festival on a day prior to the shooting, which claimed the lives of 58 people and injured hundreds more. After the tragedy, Church penned the song “Why Not Me” as a response to the shooting, and he shared with Rolling Stone that the event further influenced him when it comes to his new music.

“That’s where ‘Desperate Man’ kind of came from,” he continued. “I wrote that in the studio. I got a little bit desperate in there to just find an album because it was not f—ing happening.”

The video for the song will arrive on Monday and Desperate Man will be released on October 5. Members of Church’s fan club will receive the album for free. His last release was 2015’s Mr. Misunderstood, which was released to fan club members first with no prior announcement.

Church announced the news of his upcoming project in a live stream on Thursday, revealing the new album and new single while speaking to fans.

“It’s been a while; I just want to say I have missed you,” he shared. “I have good news…the album is done, and we are back.”

“I look forward to seeing you on the road… I’m very proud of this album,” he concluded. “See you soon.”

Photo Credit: John Peets