"Kill a Word" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist Eric Church as a duet with American musician

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player. Giddens i ...

. It was released in August 2016 as the third single from Church's 2015 album ''

Mr. Misunderstood ''Mr. Misunderstood'' is the fifth studio album from American country music artist Eric Church. Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville released the album on November 3, 2015, to his fan club, before being released on iTunes the following ...

''. Church wrote this song with Luke Dick and Jeff Hyde.

Content

The song is about the power and importance of words, and wanting to "kill" words with negative meanings, such as "hate." The album version features Andrea Davidson and

, the latter a member of the

Carolina Chocolate Drops The Carolina Chocolate Drops were an old-time string band from Durham, North Carolina. Their 2010 album, ''Genuine Negro Jig,'' won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, and was number 9 in ''fRoots'' ...

, on backing vocals. For the single edit, Giddens sings some lines of the song by herself. Church told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' that the 2016 presidential election was influential in picking "Kill a Word" as a single: "I would have regretted not putting out 'Kill a Word,' and let this season pass, not knowing if I would get a chance again where it was this relevant, this timely."

Music video

The music video was directed by Shaun Silva and premiered on CMT, GAC, and

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

in 2016.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' wrote that "Soulful production and the addition of Rhiannon Giddens gives a more casual listener something to enjoy if he or she chooses not to dive into Church’s statement." Giving it an "A", Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' wrote that "Songs that aim for utopia usually stumble along the way because they are either too preachy or too woefully naive. Church avoids this trap by zeroing in on the obstacles rather than the goal, and personalizes the proceedings by tackling what gets in the way of individual pursuit of happiness." Church and Giddens were nominated for Musical Event of the Year at the

51st Annual Country Music Association Awards The 51st Annual Country Music Association Awards, commonly known as the 51st CMA Awards, was held on November 8, 2017, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee and was hosted for the tenth time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. The ...

in 2017.

Commercial performance

The song debuted on the Country Airplay chart at No. 58 for the chart dated September 10, 2016, and entered the Hot Country Songs chart three weeks later at No. 41. The song has sold 194,000 copies in the United States as of March 2017. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 17, 2017 for 500,000 units in sales and streams.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2016 singles Country ballads 2010s ballads Eric Church songs Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Eric Church Songs written by Jeff Hyde EMI Records singles Song recordings produced by Jay Joyce Songs written by Luke Dick