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Joe Nichols Recalls Telling A Record Exec He Would “Rather Die A Violent Death” Than Take The Jesus Reference Out Of His Song “We All Carry Something”
Something he should be very, very proud of.
You probably recognize Joe Nichols’ name from some of his early 2000s hits like “Brokenheartsville,” “She Only Smokes When She Drinks” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” and he’s continued to put out great music over the years, although it’s unlikely you’ll hear his newer stuff on the radio these days.
And that’s more than alright with him…
Joe appeared on the Drifting Cowboy Podcast this week, where he talked about getting his start in country music, how he got some of his early record deals, and what it was like being a struggling artist in Nashville.
But possibly the most interesting, and certainly inspiring part, was when Nichols recalled a story about a record executive at Red Bow telling him he needed to take a lyric about Jesus out of his song “Revelation.” It was the title track to his third studio album, which was released in 2004, and came out no long after his father passed away. Nichols explained that his dad was his mentor and biggest cheerleader, and taught him a lot about music.
He says his dad was an extremely talented musician, and he struggled a lot when his dad died:
“It just really wrecked me, you know, I didn’t have a lot of mentors, really, that I could call… that I would trust, anyways. and when he passed away, it sent me into a really bad depression. And that whole ‘Revelation’ album, you can hear it.
Every song on there is pretty heavy, there’s a lot of God on that album, and Jesus. ‘Revelation,’ that’s the payoff line, ‘All at once the clouds rolled back and there stood Jesus Christ in all his glory.'”
Joe explained that in the music business, even in country music, that is a “no-no sometimes,” and very often, label executives will try to change that or encourage artists not to release those kinds of songs.
Nichols said it happened with his 2017 song “We All Carry Something,” recalling the story:
“That’s kind of a no-no sometimes. When you put Jesus in a song, you’re taking a little bit of a chance. Some people in position at record labels, they’re like, ‘This would be great if you just took Jesus out of that.’
Which I’m very proud that I’ve been approached many times with that, and every single time, I have said, I would rather die a bloody death than do something like that. Matter off act, we have a song called ‘We All Carry Something,’ and I was on Red Bow at the time. It’s a brilliant song, and it’s a beautiful vocal, the first verse is very powerful.
We talk about a baby that was born addicted to alcohol because of the momma, and a boy that grew up in the trailer park and got roughed up by his pops. Just heart-wrenching story after story, and the message is, we’re all carrying some stuff.”
He remembers an executive telling him they thought it would be a “smash” hit single, but he needed to make the part where Nichols talks about Jesus in particular more generic.
He told them he would “rather die a violent death” than do something like that, and he refused to change the lyrics. He remembered telling them they’d given him an opportunity to “feel like a great human being” by turning down the money and success for such a righteous cause, and he is still proud of that decision, as he very much should be.
Nichols laughed as he said they also stuck to their word and shelved it. But, as he so eloquently pointed out, he doesn’t have to live with that, and they do:
“One of the leaders at the label said, ‘We need a lyric change in this song, and then we can potentially put this song out as a single. I think it’s a smash. We just need to change the Jesus. Maybe a little bit more generic. Something not religious, pull back on that.’
And I said, ‘I’d rather die a violent death to do something like that. You’ve given me an opportunity to feel like a great human being right now. You can take the success, the money, everything else, but I get to be proud of this kind of decision right now, and say, I don’t want a damn dollar. That is worth fighting for.’
And they stuck to their word, they put it on a shelf. It is what it is. I ain’t gotta live with that. They do.”
Amen… I think many of us think of country music as the exception when it comes to incorporating religion, and Christianity in particular, into the songs, but the sad truth is that even in Nashville, more often than not, it’s seen as “too touchy” or subject matter to steer clear from.
Nichols left Red Bow not long after that, in 2018, though it’s unclear if that situation had anything to do with it. I’m sure it was a multitude of reasons, because you’ll find this kind of thing at any label sadly, but it should be highlighted just how hard that kind of is to walk away from in the moment.
It’s never the right thing in my opinion, but difficult nonetheless when you’re being promised the world to do something “simple” like take what some view as a word that doesn’t matter out. Kind of scary, actually, and the fact that so many are willing to go along with that is a lot of what’s wrong with the world, but I digress here…
I think this is something a lot of country artists would be scared to talk about, so good for Nichols to put his money where his mouth is (or being willing to lose the money, I guess) when it comes to his beliefs and principles.
He also joked very honestly that he has not always been “this virtuous man that I’m presenting myself to be,” which only makes him that much more endearing.
He’s one of the good ones, and it’s a great conversation you can watch here:
“We All Carry Something”
The post Joe Nichols Recalls Telling A Record Exec He Would “Rather Die A Violent Death” Than Take The Jesus Reference Out Of His Song “We All Carry Something” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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