Eric Church has cemented himself as a living legend in country music. From his smash hits such as “Springsteen,” “Give Me Back My Hometown” and “Record Year,” to his electric live performances, the North Carolina singer/songwriter has made a name for himself as country’s favorite “outsider.”
Though Church has plenty of iconic hits and deep cuts, there are plenty of songs available to listen to right now that have never been officially released on any of his past records.
Here are 12 unreleased Church songs that you need to listen to.
Woke Up This Morning
The earliest unreleased Church song that is available to listen to on YouTube is “Woke Up This Morning,” which surfaced back in January 2011.
Given its upload date, it’s safe to assume that the song was cut from Church’s 2009 album, Carolina, or potentially his 2011 EP, Caldwell County which was released just two weeks before the video.
Michael
“Michael” has long been one of the most popular unreleased songs from the “Springsteen” singer. Written by Church, Jeremy Spillman and his late brother, Brandon, the track debuted back in 2009 during CMA Fest. For years, the song only had less-than-ideal footage filled with poor audio quality and rowdy fans.
In 2021, a studio version of “Michael” surfaced online. The song has never appeared on any of Church’s studio or live albums, however.
Standing Their Ground
Though the song has an official live release on Church’s live album, 61 Days in Church, Volume 5, “Standing Their Ground’s” studio version remains unreleased, never being included in any of Church’s nine studio albums.
Lovin’ Me Anyway
“Lovin’ Me Anyway” was originally intended to be on his breakout album, Chief, and it’s still baffling that this song didn’t make the cut. It has #1 hit written all over it, having a similar feeling to “Springsteen.”
The track was only available digitally as a free reward for fans who promoted the album being available for purchase according to this 2011 Facebook post from Church.
I’m Just Sayin’
Only a handful of videos of this song are available online as of writing. Not much is known about the track other than the fact that it was performed semi-regularly in 2012 during Church’s Blood, Sweat and Beers tour.
Good For That
“Good For That” was originally intended to be on Church’s 2014 album, The Outsiders. However, it was cut for unknown reasons. A high-quality studio version is still unavailable with the only video available on YouTube being this one that was recorded during his Outsiders Radio show on Sirius XM in March 2015.
There is, however, an acoustic version taken from his private Church Choir performance in June 2015 up on YouTube to listen to here.
Whatever That Was
During the aforementioned Church Choir private show, Church also debuted “Whatever That Was” during the performance. There has never been a studio version of the song leaked or teased since.
Why Not Me
Easily the most popular unreleased song from Church, “Why Not Me?” was written in response to the 2017 Vegas mass shooting which killed 61 attendees of the Route 91 Harvest Festival while fellow star, Jason Aldean, was performing. Church had played the festival just two days before.
He debuted “Why Not Me” on October 4, 2017, at the Opry just three days after the tragedy. An emotional Church gave a powerful monologue before performing the song, finishing by saying, “And that night, something broke in me, on Sunday night 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…”
You can listen to the entire performance here.
Old Testament Me
Like “Whatever That Was” in 2015, “Old Testament Me” was performed at Church’s private Church Choir 2017 show. Before performing, Church noted that he wrote the song in 20 minutes while stuck in traffic before the show.
“Old Testament Me” has never made an appearance on any of his records since the live performance.
Becky’s Back in Birmingham
Church has only performed “Becky’s Back in Birmingham” once back in October 2019. There is no further information about the song available on the track.
It’s safe to assume that the song was on the shortlist for his 2021 triple album, Heart & Soul, but unfortunately, it ended up getting cut.
Cause My Dad Did
Like “Why Not Me,” “Cause My Dad Did” remains, as of now, an Opry exclusive song. The track was debuted during his Opry performance on Dec. 11, 2022.
Since there’s been no new music teased from Church since the song’s debut, there’s still a chance the track gets a release on Church’s next album.
On The Road
The most recent unreleased Church song debuted last year during his Outsiders Revival tour, first being played live on August 11, 2023, in Noblesville, Indiana. He’s since played it at multiple shows since its debut.
Like “Cause My Dad Did,” there’s a good chance that “On The Road” is included in Church’s next record which is hopefully coming sooner than later.
Some unreleased Church songs have surfaced on YouTube which have since been taken down. These songs include:
- Thinkin’ In Church
- Startin’ Fires in the Rain
- White Corn Liquor