The Eric Church Why Not Me song was released in 2017 about the tragic Las Vegas shooting. Country music standout Eric Church performed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on September 29th, just two days before gunman Stephen Paddock killed 59 concertgoers and injured more than 500 on Sunday night. Obviously this senseless tragedy weighed heavily on the North Carolina native as he took to the Grand Ole Opry stage on Wednesday night.
“I watched them hold American flags up during ‘How ‘Bout You.’ I watch them put an American scarf around my neck during ‘Springsteen.’ They held records up when I played ‘Record Year.’ They held boots up when I played ‘These Boots,’” Church recalled about his connection with the Las Vegas crowd. “I was so moved by it, mainly because I looked at them and went, ‘This is my crowd. I’ve seen this crowd all year. They’re mine.”
“And 48 hours later, those places that I stood, was carnage,” an emotional Church added. “And those were my people. My fans.”
The star also told the gut-wrenching story of 29-year-old Sonny Melton, who was killed while protecting his wife, Heather, during the mass shooting. The pair were celebrating their wedding anniversary and went to the festival specifically to watch Eric perform. The couple had also planned to attend Eric’s Opry performance. Last night, their seats were left empty.
“The reason I’m here, the reason I’m here tonight, is because of Heather Melton. Her husband, Sonny, who died. And every person that was there,” the star shared. “Because let me tell you something, I saw that crowd. I saw them with their hands in the air. I saw them. I saw them with boots in the air. And what I saw, that moment in time, was frozen. There’s no amount of bullets that can take it away. None.”
“That night, something broke in me, on Sunday when that happened. And the only way I’ve ever fixed anything that’s been broken in me is with music. So I wrote a song.”
Eric then debuted his brand new song called “Why Not Me” in honor of Sonny and the Las Vegas victims. The tune was immediately followed by a stirring cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
Listen to the country star’s tear-jerking speech and emotional performance and check out the lyrics below.
Eric Church Why Not Me Video
Eric Church Why Not Me Lyrics
Why you with your long brown hair flowing
And you with your fresh tattooed skin
And you from the Western Virginia
That you’ll never get to see again
As darkness descended the desert
And a bad actor starred in his play
Why you from Tennessee did life capture
And me from Tennessee get away
And when the morning sun hit the mountain
And a glorious still calmed the breeze
I asked the God of all knowing wisdom
Why you and why not me?
Yeah the Lord is my refuge and fortress
My God with whom I trust
But I’ll never know why the wicked
Gets to prey on the best of us
Why you full of life and promise
At the top of your lungs so loud
My songs that you sang so sweetly will ring
In my ears forever now
And when the morning sun hits the mountain
And a glorious still calms the breeze
I’ll ask the God of infinite wisdom
Why you and why not me?
And every morning when the sun hits the mountain
And a glorious still calms the breeze
I’ll ask the God of my salvation
Why you and why not me?
Why you and why not me?
Goodness. This just hits you in the heart. Share Eric’s moving comments and performance with other country music fans.
