Eric Church

The Outsiders

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The Outsiders

Released February 11, 2014 EMI Records Nashville

  1. The Outsiders

    They’re the in-crowd, we’re the other ones
    It’s a different kind of cloth that we’re cut from
    We let our colors show where the numbers ain’t
    We’re the paint where there ain’t supposed to be paint
    That’s who we are
    That’s how we roll
    The outsiders
    The outsiders

    Our women get hot and our leather gets stained
    When we saddle up and ride ‘em in the pouring rain
    We’re the junkyard dogs, we’re the alley cats
    Keep the wind at our fronts and the hell at our backs
    That’s who we are
    We do our talkin’, walk that walk, wide-open rockin’
    That’s how we roll
    Back to the wall, a band of brothers, together alone
    The outsiders, we’re the riders
    We’re the ones burning rubber off our tires
    Yeah, we’re the fighters, the all nighters
    So, fire ‘em up and get a little higher

    We’re the bad news, we’re the young guns
    We’re the ones that they told you to run from
    Yeah, the player’s gonna play and a haters gonna hate
    And a regulator’s born to regulate
    When it hits the fan and it all goes down
    And the gloves come off, you’re gonna find out just

    Who we are
    We do our talkin’, walk that walk, wide-open rockin’
    That’s how we roll
    Back to the wall, a band of brothers, together alone
    The outsiders, we’re the riders
    We’re the ones burning rubber off our tires
    Yeah, we’re the fighters, the all nighters
    So, fire ‘em up and get a little higher
    The outsiders
    The outsiders
    You’re gonna know who we are

    The outsiders

    That’s who we are

  2. A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young

    I like fast cars and sharp dreams
    Chased a lot of crazy things
    Left behind my share of broken pieces
    This morning I turned 36 and when you just remember half of it
    You wonder how you outlived Hank or Jesus

    Chorus:
    I put the rage in the river and the roll in the thunder
    But you kept me from going under
    When that current got too heavy
    I always thought I’d be a heap of metal
    In a cloud of smoke, foot stuck to the pedal
    Sold for parts like a junkyard rusted out Chevy
    Fear, I’ve had none, what the hell made you wanna love
    A man who was gonna die young

    In the mirror, I saw my surprise
    Who knew gray hairs liked to hide
    On a head that didn’t think he’d live past thirty
    If I make it thirty more, it’s the brown that you’ll be looking for
    As you run your fingers through it and say, slow down honey

    Repeat Chorus

    Call it intuition or call it crazy
    Just thought by now I’d be pushing up daisies
    But I’ll gladly stick around if we’re together
    So baby, when you bow your head tonight
    Could you tell the Lord I’ve changed my mind
    And with you, I’d like to live forever

  3. Cold One

    It was a perfect day for the end of May, they say a record high
    I was staring at that green water when out of the blue and by surprise
    She had her feet up on the cooler as she put our love on ice
    She grabbed a beer, said I’m out of here
    And walked out of my life

    Chorus:
    That was a cold one
    I never will get back
    If she had to leave
    Did she have to leave me
    One beer short of a twelve pack
    She left me hangin' high and dry
    In that hell hot summer sun
    Damn babe, that was a cold one

    Ain't the first time or the last time
    I’ve watched love walk out
    But it’s damn sure the one time
    I still ain't forgot about
    I still like to drink a beer but a long neck I won’t do
    ‘Cause every time I see one sweatin', man, I break out in one too

    Repeat Chorus Twice

    Damn babe, that was a cold one

  4. Roller Coaster Ride

    Click clackin', my heart keeps makin' an ominous sound
    That chain keeps draggin' me up just to drop me back down
    Think I’m over the hump enough to see the other side
    That’s when another thought of you runs through my mind

    Chorus:
    Since you had to go
    I’ve been on a roller coaster ride
    Up and down I go
    Over you then ‘bout to lose my mind
    It’s outta control, ‘round and ‘round
    Upside down and down upside
    Since you had to go
    I’ve been on a roller coaster ride

    A psychedelic trip, my stomach flips, again and again
    I’d love to give my ticket back but I’m locked in
    White-knuckled grip, hangin' on to what’s left of my life
    Hate to think about the comin' down when I’m up this high

    Repeat Chorus

    Hang on

    Repeat Chorus

  5. Talladega

    It was the summer before the real world started
    And the deal was we would get to go
    If we cleaned it up and got it runnin’
    Daddy’s old Winnebago
    Wing and prayer down 65
    Five best friends on four bald tires
    I can still see Billy smilin’
    When we finally made it…to

    Chorus:
    Talledega, boys raise the
    Whiskey in your glass
    Here’s to turn it up, slowin’ down
    And cars that go real fast
    We were laughin’ and livin’
    Drinkin’ and wishin’
    And thinkin’ as that checkered flag was wavin’
    Sure would like to stay in
    Talladega

    Like a stone, time rolls on
    You can’t hit pause
    That’s just the deal
    Most days in life don’t stand out        
    But life’s about those days that will
    Like rockin’ Randall, gettin’ rowdy
    Shootin’ roman candles
    At the man in the moon ‘til the
    Alabama sun was breaking…over

    Repeat Chorus

    When the winds grow cold and it blows October
    I think about us shoulder to shoulder
    Like those cars, my thoughts roll over and over and over
    In my mind tonight
    I’m in

    Repeat Chorus

    Talladega, Talladega
    Talladega, Talladega

  6. Broke Record

    Your lips, your hips
    When you touch 'em to mine
    Each and every time, I’m hypnotized, I’ll admit it
    Your moves, your grooves
    It’s some deadly stuff, I can’t get enough
    Girl, your love’s a drug, I can’t quit it

    Chorus:
    I’m a broke record, a broke record
    You got my heart, heart, skip, skip, skippin' a beat
    Run the needle through, and hit, hit repeat
    I’m a broke record, a broke record
    You’re a song I gotta sing along with and then
    When it gets to the end I gotta play it again and again

    My friends are wearing thin
    They’re tired of hearing your name, it ain't a healthy thing
    This obsession that I’m living
    So, baby, please rescue me
    I ain’t never had nothing stuck in my head
    Like this melody I keep hearing

    Repeat Chorus

    Like a yo-yo-yo-yo-yo-yo, babe
    That’s what I feel like, up and down, driving me crazy
    You keep yank, yank, yanking my string, string, baby
    Baby, don’t stop, don’t stop

    Repeat Chorus

    Again and again and again and again, yeah
    And again and again

  7. Like a Wrecking Ball

    I’ve, I’ve been gone, I’ve been gone too long
    Singin' my songs on the road, another town
    One more show then I’m comin' home
    Don’t give a damn what these keys are for
    I’m gonna knock down that front door
    And

    I’m gonna find out what that house is made of
    Been too many nights since it’s felt us make love
    I wanna rock some sheet rock
    Knock some pictures off the wall
    Love you baby like a wrecking ball

    You, look at you, send me one more shot
    Sittin' on the bathroom sink
    Damn, you really turn me on
    Painting your toenails pink
    Easy baby for you to say
    But if I can make it just one more day

    That whole house is gonna be shakin'
    I hope those bricks and boards can take it
    But I won’t be surprised
    If the whole damn place just falls
    Wanna rock you baby like a wrecking ball

    This ole house is gonna be shakin'
    Rafter rockin', foundation quakin'
    Crash right through the front door
    Back you up against the wall
    Love you baby
    Take it right there baby
    Rock you baby like a wrecking ball

  8. That's Damn Rock & Roll

    It ain’t a needle in a vein, it ain’t backstage sex
    It ain’t lines of cocaine on a private jet
    It ain’t havin’ a posse full of hangers-on following you around
    It ain’t long hair, tattoos, playin’ too loud, naw

    It ain’t a middle finger on a tee shirt that the establishment’s trying to sell
    It’s a guy with the balls, tellin’ the establishment to go to Hell
    It ain’t about the money you make when a record gets sold
    It’s about doin’ it for nothing because it lives in your soul

    That’s damn rock and roll
    That’s damn rock and roll

    It’s a rock through a window, it’s a riot in the street
    It’s a rebel revolution that’s fightin’ for peace
    It’s burn-baby-burn, it’s a brick in the wall
    It’s first one to stand and the last one to fall
    It’s a hip shakin’ devil on a stage in Tupelo
    It’s doin’ what you want, ‘stead of doin’ what you’re told
    It’s a preacher burnin’ records, tellin’ folks they ought to pray
    ‘Cause the shepherd bought a Gibson and led the flock astray

    That’s damn rock and roll
    Give all you’ve got till there ain’t nothing left
    That’s damn rock and roll

    Yeah, when the Clash crashed the party and the party got loud
    And the party turned into an angry crowd
    Drowning demons feel no pain, found Nirvana wasted shame
    Gone too soon just like a song
    Hendrix, Joplin, what went wrong
    Need some answers, right or wrong
    Need something to blame it on
    Blame it on, blame it on, blame it on, blame it on
    Blame it on, blame it on, blame it on, blame it on
    Blame it on, blame it on

    That’s damn rock and roll
    Give all you’ve got till there ain’t nothing left
    That’s damn rock and roll
    Woo hoo, woo hoo, woo hoo, woo hoo
    Another day in another town
    Load in the stage, and the lights, and the sound
    Here they come boys, they opened doors
    Count us off now Craig, one, two, three, four

    That’s damn rock and roll
    Give all you’ve got till there ain’t nothing left
    That’s damn rock and roll
    Every ounce of your blood and your sweat
    That’s damn rock
    That’s damn rock and roll
    Rock and roll
    That’s damn rock and roll
    Rock and roll

  9. Dark Side

    Over there in the shadow
    Hangin’ out in the corner of my mind
    Stringin’ up the gallow
    Waitin’ on me to cross that line
    That man’s dangerous as hell, a threat to himself
    If he got out there’d be hell to pay
    And that’s why my dark side don’t ever see the light of day

    I slowed down on the whiskey
    ‘Cause there always came a point
    When I’d have one too many
    And tear down every wall in that joint
    I’ve got a wife and got a son
    That don’t know half the stuff I’ve done
    And I pray that’s the way it stays
    And that’s why my dark side don’t ever see the light of day

    You can blame it on my rebel raisin’
    Blame it on the south
    You can blame it on the words
    I try to keep here in my mouth
    It takes a lot to start me up
    But once that hammer drops
    You don’t won’t to be the one
    That tries to make me stop

    All you thugs and ugly mugs
    Dealing drugs and makin’ noise
    You can kill each other all you want
    But if you touch my little boy
    You beggin’ for this bullet
    Will be the last thing that you say
    Before I let my dark side come out to play

  10. Devil Devil (Prelude: Princess of Darkness)

    This town, she is a temptress
    A siren with gold eyes
    She'll cut you with her kindness
    Then she will bleed you with her lies

    She's been called a glistening devil
    And she's good at keeping score
    If you make it, she's your savior
    If you don't, she's a whore

    The roads to and from her heart are littered with creative souls
    They gave all their all
    And all they got in return was empty holes

    Sure, we've all heard about Shel and Kris and Willie and the Bobby Bares
    She's smiled on the Johnny's, the Merle's and the many Music Row millionaires

    Like a beacon, she goes seeking seed
    For her loins so fertile
    To a free man, she's a prison
    To a caged one, she's a file

    She's the reason there's a “Sunday Morning Coming Down”
    “I Saw The Light”, “Boy Named Sue”
    “He Stopped Loving Her Today”
    “The Pill” and “16th Avenue”

    The Ryman, oh she's a diamond
    In the crown of that wicked queen
    She was Roy Acuff’s castle
    And Elvis Presley's broken dream

    It's not all bad, it's not all dark
    It's not all gloom and crass
    But to find gold in this silver mine
    It does take balls of brass

    Fore she's seen ‘em come, seen ‘em go
    And came herself a time or two
    But no matter how satisfied her screams sound
    She always wants someone new
    The next him or them or her or all
    With stamina to last the night
    To be a star in this lady's town
    You can f*#k or you can fight

    You see, it all comes down to money
    Not romantic art from days gone past
    If you forget that rule, you can bet your backside
    She will bury it in your ass

    A tramp, a slut, a bitch, a mutt
    A thousand pawnshop guitars
    A nasty little needle
    To a vein that feeds a singer’s heart

    She lurks in friendly shadows
    But she's a junkie with a limp
    The agents are her bookie
    And the labels are her pimp

    I'll tell you a well known secret
    In a tiny place known far and wide
    The devil walks among us folks
    And Nashville is his bride

    Of all the chaos he has caused and done
    His greatest trick is
    To every guitar toting dreamer
    The devil don't exist

    But me, I've shook his hand,
    And I know that he is real
    So devil, you can go screw yourself
    And then go straight to hell

    Devil, devil, I feel you preying on my mind
    Got nine things going wrong right now
    And her leaving makes a dime
    I’m mad as hell, and drunk, and well
    Tonight, I guess we’ll see
    If devil, devil, you’re bad enough to lock horns with me

    Level, level, in search of solid ground
    This swinging, swaying, side to side, is tossing me around
    I got a hanker for an anchor to steady up my bow
    Level, level, tie this rebel down

    Crazy, crazy, calling out my name
    I got one foot on the platform and the other’s on a train
    Save me, save me, I know what’s in store
    Crazy, crazy hell, I’ve been there before

    Danger, danger, the way you’re looking there at me
    Be careful what you wish for, you might get what you don’t need
    I’m a brush fire on a drought land in a Santa Ana breeze
    Danger, danger, don’t you play around with me

    Crazy, crazy, calling out my name
    I got one foot on the platform and the other’s on a train
    Save me, save me, I know what’s in store
    Crazy, crazy hell, I’ve been there before

    Angel, angel, heavenly body in holy jeans
    On second thought, get over here and wrap me in your wings
    Throw caution to the wind and honey, give me what I need
    Angel, angel, love this devil, devil, out of me
    Devil, devil, devil

    Oooooo, devil, devil
    Oooooo, devil, devil
    Oooooo, devil, devil

  11. Give Me Back My Hometown

    Damn, I used to love this view
    Sit here and drink a few
    Main street and the high school lit up on Friday night
    Down there it’s another touchdown
    Man, this year’s team is stout
    I can hear them goin’ crazy
    And up here so am I
    Thinkin’ about you, sittin’ here sayin’, I hate this, I hate it
    If you couldn’t stand livin’ here, why’d you take it, take it

    Give me back my hometown
    ‘Cause this is my hometown

    All the colors of my youth
    The red, the green, the hope, the truth
    Are beatin’ me black and blue ‘cause you’re in every scene
    My friends try to cheer me up, get together at the Pizza Hut
    I didn’t have the heart to tell them that was our place
    These sleepy streetlights on every sidewalk side street
    Shed a light on everything that used to be

    Give me back my hometown
    ‘Cause this is my hometown
    Yeah, yeah, ooohh, yeah, yeah

    You can have my grandma’s locket
    The knife out of my grandpa’s pocket
    Yeah, my state champion jacket
    I don’t care, you can have it
    Every made memory
    Every picture, every broken dream
    Yeah, everything, everything, everything

    Give me back my hometown
    ‘Cause this is my hometown
    Yeah, yeah, ooohh, yeah, yeah

  12. The Joint

    The only joint my momma burned was on the rural route
    She parked in old man Taylor’s woods so she wouldn’t be found out
    Turned off her dome light and snuck off by herself
    Crouched down beneath that window, fired it up and gave it hell

    Chorus:
    That hangout my daddy used to hang around
    We watched it all go up in smoke until it all came down
    Just like that, the taps and stools and the tables got turned
    To the only joint my momma ever burned, burned

    Just like someone flipped a switch, dad started coming home
    No more eating late cold suppers with that tavern gone
    I had my suspicions till one night when we said Grace
    Dad said, forgive us our transgressions, that smile lit up momma’s face
    Like

    Repeat Chorus

    Of all the small town Barney Fifes
    And bloodhounds in this town
    I’m the only one that ever found out about

    Repeat Chorus

Produced by Jay Joyce

Executive Producer – Arturo Buenahora, Jr.

Recorded by Jason Hall at St. Charles (Nashville, TN) Assisted by Matthew Wheeler

Additional Recording by Jay Joyce

Mixed by Jay Joyce at St. Charles (Nashville, TN) Assisted by Matthew Wheeler

Production Assistance by Scott Johnson

Mastered by Andrew Mendelson at Georgetown Masters (Nashville, TN)

Musicians:

Eric Church – Electric and Acoustic Guitar

Craig Wright – Drums and Percussion, Background Vocals

Lee Hendricks – Bass, Baritone Guitar, Percussion, Background Vocals

Jay Joyce – Baritone, Electric Guitar, Hammond C-3, Piano, Pump Organ, Drums, Percussion, Bass, White Noise Generator, Sound Effects, Omnichord, Wurlitzer, Synth Mando, Background Vocals

Jeff Hyde – Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Background Vocals

Bryan Sutton – Acoustic, 12-String Acoustic Guitar, Octave-Mandolin, Mandolin, Bass-Banjo, Slide Dobro, Dobro, Piano, Bouzouki, Percussion

J.T. Corenflos – Electric Guitar

Barry Green, Roy Agee – Trombone

Jason Sellers, Joanna Cotton, Matthew Wheeler, Jason Hall – Background Vocals

Bryan Sutton appears courtesy of Sugar Hill Records, a Welk Music Group company

Management: John Peets, Q Prime South, Inc. Nashville, TN

www.umgnashville.com

www.ericchurch.com

Art Direction & Design: Karen Naff

Photography: John Peets

Thank you: First of all I'm so thankful for the gift of music. It is a spiritual and Divine blessing that I treat with the respect it deserves from Whom it was bestowed. My wife Katherine, I love and live for you. To Boone, you've changed my life and given it joy and purpose I never knew existed. I love you son. Jay Joyce, I enjoy our relationship more with every record. We never settle. Thank you for being you. John Peets, what a journey, if I had a dime for every time we got each other in trouble we would be on a beach by now. Thank you for your guidance, counsel, and fellowship. I look forward to the next chapter. Arthur Buenahora, well, you got us into this, I can't express enough the trust and belief I have in you. It's a special thing we have. To the Q Prime team - Randi Seplow, Fielding Logan, June Simon and Angela Lange - an engine is only as good as its parts. We have the best parts and the fastest ride out there. I thank you guys. Ebie McFarland, I know I say no to everyone and everything, very thankful you said yes to me. Thanks for all you do. Jay Williams and William Morris, Jamie Cheek and FBMM, Louie Messina and TMG, Mike Dungan, Tom Becci, Royce Risser, Cindy Mabe and everyone at UMG, and especially my EMI promotion team, thank you for doing all the stuff no one sees you do. I know you do it, and I'm grateful. To Debra Williams and Katy Robbins, I appreciate what you do. Peter Zavadil thank you for getting what we do and capturing it! Finally, to my other family. Marshall Alexander, I would literally be lost without you. I thank and love you. Todd Bunch, where do the years go? Thank you for building a culture that is second to none and always being willing to go the extra mile. To the crew, you work the hardest and love it the most. It's inspiring. I got your back always. To my brothers in music – Jeff Cease, Lee Hendricks, Jeff Hyde, Driver Williams, & Craig Wright - I'd do anything for you and go anywhere with you. I love you. To the fans, our choir, our fellow outsiders, you’re the tip of the sword. You are where this all starts and ends, and I thank you the most. Tell the world we are coming! -Chief

Eric Church and the ECB would like to thank:

Edge Apparel, Hellcat, All Access Coach Leasing, Gibson Guitars & Basses, Stage Call Corporation, Elixir Strings, Christie Lights, Mason Sound, Ultimate Ears, Steve Clayton Picks, Deering Banjos, Fishman Electronics, SJC Custom Drums, Blame Fuel Creative, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Aquarian Drumheads, Legacy Percussion, Ampeg Bass Amps, EMG, Klein Pickups, David Allen Pickups, Xpress Instruments, Dean Markley Strings, Reinhardt Amplification, PRS Guitars, Krank Amplification, Ernie Ball Strings, Red Monkey Design Guitar Straps, Heil Sound, Wornstar Clothing, RippRacks, Keyser Finger Picks, Strictly FX, Triggs Acoustic Guitars, Lucchese Boots and Jack Daniel’s.

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