Eric Church Dedicates New Song ‘Darkest Hour’ To ‘North Carolina, Now and Forever’

Church announced that he is donating all of his publishing royalties from his new song to the people of North Carolina.

By

Madeleine O’Connell

| Posted on

October 4, 2024

at

10:13 am

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Eric Church; Photo by Robby Klein

Eric Church has unveiled his first new solo release in over three years, “Darkest Hour (Helene Edit),” and he’s giving all proceeds from the song to his home state of North Carolina.  

Instead of celebrating this exciting moment in his career, the country star’s unwavering attention is on his home state of North Carolina and those facing complete devastation following the impact of Hurricane Helene. To show his support for the area in the mountains that he cares so deeply about, he will be contributing to relief efforts across the region by donating all publishing royalties from his latest song to the people of North Carolina. 

“From Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, Upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida which took a direct hit, there are so many places that were impacted. Specifically in the area that I’m from, the mountains of Western North Carolina were devastated. There are places that are just biblically gone. These are our family members, they’re our friends, they’re our neighbors – and they’re in dire need of help,” reflects Church. 

Eric Church; Darkest Hour
Eric Church; Darkest Hour

Written solely by Church and produced by Jay Joyce, “Darkest Hour (Helene Edit)” draws out the 10-time GRAMMY nominee’s signature vocals as a haunting instrumentation bellows through the powerful ballad. A string of deep emotion emerges throughout the lyrics as Church reflects on the power of resilience even in the most challenging moments and offers a motivating message of hope to listeners, letting them know that they are not alone. 

“In your darkest hour, baby I’d come runnin’/ In your darkest hour, I’d light your way/ Baby don’t give up, I’d do anything in my power to take another minutе off your darkest hour,” he sings on the chorus. 

The singer shared that he has recently been dedicating a significant amount of time to “exploring creativity” in the studio. This track wasn’t supposed to be shared with the world until 2025, however, following the devastation from Hurricane Helene, he quickly realized that these lyrics might just be exactly what those in the path of the storm are needing right now.  

“I had this song that I’d written, and the line that struck me in light of the recent devastation was ‘I’ll come running,’ because there are a lot of people out there right now who are in their darkest hour and they need people to come running,” Church admitted. “We were going to wait to release music until next year, but it just didn’t feel right to wait with this song. Sometimes you give songs their moment and sometimes they find their own moment.”

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He went on to acknowledge the effect music can have on someone, especially when they are experiencing some of their lowest moments in life. So while Church has also been aiding with “boots on the ground efforts,” he hopes that “Darkest Hour (Helene Edit)” will be a form of help that lives on much longer than the immediate recovery.  

“This song, ‘Darkest Hour,’ was the best way I could think to try to help…This is not a quick thing to fix, so hopefully ‘Darkest Hour’ will be able to contribute to that for a long time to come. This song goes to my home, North Carolina, now and forever.”

Anyone who listens to the song, whether directly impacted by the storms or not, will be able to relate to it in their own way, however, Church has specifically dedicated its heartfelt message to the “unsung heroes” of the world who we can rely on to be there to pick up the pieces when everything else seems to be falling apart. 

He continues, “This is for the folks who show up in the hardest times, offering a hand when it’s most needed, and standing tall when others can’t. Even in your darkest hour, they come running. When the night’s at its blackest, this is for those who are holding the light, guiding the lost and pulling us through. The message of the song specifically in this time is about Hurricane Helene and the people that need help, but in a broader view, it’s about any challenging times that we have in our life, which we’ll all have. And it’s always important to know that in your darkest hour, there are people that will come running, there are people that will help. And I think it’s also important to be one of the people that go running when other people need help.”

In addition to his efforts in North Carolina, Eric Church’s Chief Cares will be directing all charitable efforts towards all states and communities affected from Appalachia to the Gulf. 

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Madeleine O’Connell graduated from North Central College with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Broadcast Communications before deciding to pursue her studies further at DePaul University. There, she earned her masters degree in Digital Communication & Media Arts. O’Connell served as a freelance writer for over two years while also interning with the Academy of Country Music, SiriusXM and Circle Media and assisting with Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast. In addition to Country Now, she has been published in American Songwriter, Music Mayhem, and Holler.Country. Madeleine O’Connell is a member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.