When Maren Morris released “Dear Hate” after the tragic Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, she wasn’t looking for chart success or a big radio hit — but that’s exactly what is happening. The Top 20 hit, recorded with Vince Gill, was written with veteran songwriters Tom Douglas and David Hodges, in response to both the 2012 the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina in 2015.
But the lyrics, which say, “Dear Hate / I saw you on the news today / Like a shock that takes my breath away / You fall like rain, cover us in drops of pain /I’m afraid that we just might drown,” became a perfect mantra for those struggling in the Vegas aftermath.
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“We just wrote almost this poem of lyrics and historical references to hatred and it became this really beautiful letter to love and saying like ‘you’re going to conquer all,’” Morris tells Taste of Country. “We just wanted to write something meaningful that was like a diary of what we were feeling and so ‘Dear Hate’ was just such a bold title.”
Still, Morris wasn’t sure the song would — or should — see the light of day, until the Route 91 Harvest Festival tragedy when Morris, who performed at the festival one day prior to the rampage, felt compelled to share the message with the world.
“I’ve had it for years and just never knew when to release it and then when the Vegas shooting happened … it just felt like the right time.”
Proceeds from “Dear Hate” go to the Music City Cares Fund for victims and their families. Download “Dear Hate” on iTunes.
Photo Credit: Red Light Management
