Country music mainstay sensation Eric Church went viral for perfectly describing faith with analogies to music in the most country-music sort of way. Church gave the remarks as a commencement speaker for the University of North Carolina.
For context on the award-winning artist, Church – who has won accolades for his songs from the most prestigious organizations such as the American Country Country (ACA) awards, The Country Music Television (CMT), Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards, Country Music Association (CMA) awards, and a body of work spanning multiple decades of Grammy nominations – was praised for giving advice to graduates that extended far beyond going out into the world after graduating to get a job and just be a mindless cog in the machine.
Comments on his speech after the video was posted to a Facebook page for Fox News said that “Eric Church calling faith the ‘low E’ of life might be the best graduation advice this year” as the slow drawl of the singer-songwriter produced a message that low E is the basis for all musical chords just as faith is the basis for all things meaningful the graduates could do in their lives after college.
“String one, the low E that is your foundation. The low E is the thickest string. It is the heaviest. Every chord a guitar can make rest on this string. Being in tune. Your faith is the low E of your life,” a clip of Church’s longer speech began.
“The thing that sits at the very bottom of you. Your belief about what this life is for, what you owe, what holds the universe together. When science reaches the edge of its own explanation and strokes. The people who tend to their faith in ordinary seasons do not come undone in extraordinary ones,” he continued.
“They still hurt, they still sit in hospital waiting rooms asking unanswerable questions at three in the morning, but they have a foundation to return to the world will try to untune this string, through busyness, through slow accumulation of a full schedule, a full inbox, a full life. Listen to me tend to your faith, not just when you’re broken, but when you’re whole,” he finished.
Additional comments likewise praised the message of the powerful address to young college grads. “What an amazing and accurate commencement speech to young people that might need a compass to direct them at times!” one commenter posted.
“Most unusual but great speech I’ve heard in a while… took some thinking to make all those comparisons to musical notes!” added another. “What an exceptional message to people who are going out into a world that prioritizes money, career, and “independence.” chimed in a third.
“When I graduated from UNC, the commencement speaker that year was Ted Turner. The only takeaway from his speech that I could remember was ‘if you’re having marital troubles, get counseling.’ Church’s speech sounded like a big improvement,” noted yet someone else.
According to Wikipedia, “Kenneth Eric Church is an American singer-songwriter and part-owner of the Charlotte Hornets. He’s released seven studio albums since 2005 through Capitol Nashville. Church’s music is often described as reflective. He made his Grand Ole Opry debut in April 2006. Church is also known for his philanthropy. He sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” with Jazmine Sullivan at Super Bowl LV, donating all proceeds to help North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.”