Church Bells by Carrie Underwood

Album: Storyteller (2015)

Charted: 43

License This Song

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

This Zach Crowell, Brett James and Hillary Lindsey murder ballad tells the tale of Jenny, who quietly gets rid of her abusive husband by slipping "something in his Tennessee whiskey."
The story of Jenny is one of a number of tales that Underwood tells on her Storyteller album. "I feel like one of the things that sets country music apart from other types of music is the storytelling aspect," she said. "I want three-and-a-half-minute movies on the radio. I love that there's a beginning, middle, and an end, and it all makes sense."

"You can follow the characters, and you can see it all playing out in your head. That's what I'm drawn to, so that's what I write, what I pick, and what I want to sing."
Underwood explained how the titular bells evolve throughout the song to represent different things to Jenny: "In the beginning they represent a wedding. In the middle, they represent her needing some help after he abuses her... so then at the end, of course, the church bells represent the ones the ring out at his funeral, and she's free."
This was the first time that Zach Crowell had written a song where he had to kill off somebody. "It was kind of fun," he recalled to Taste of Country. "I remember kinda giggling, talking about, 'Okay, how should we kill this guy?' I remember sitting there saying, 'Oh, this is kind of awesome, to think kind of like a Hollywood screenwriter would come up with something."
It was Zach Crowell who suggested the song title. Hillary Lindsey recalled to The Boot: "It was, 'What can this be about?' I think once we started, once we kind of got the ball started rolling, then we definitely had [Underwood] in mind. It was so fun, because we got to chase the story of the character."

Comments: 3

Kayla from Not Sayini like this song honestly its the meaning of the song and i think the when hes abusing the female and getting poisoned at the end i think that he honestly deserved it cause no man should ever lay a finger on a women no matter how bad a situation gets and plus its only a song it doesn't exactly mean that someone will actually die in the song but the way she dressed people see may be "slutty" and stuff but in reality its the art of it, its suppose to go with how the song goes and it seems appropriate for kids cause some kids don't really understand it as much they only listen to the music and not putting any thought into the song as we do, and this is coming from a 17 almost 18 year old kid and if anyone has any disagreements bout what i just said or if you agree you can find my Facebook (Kayla Bulman) i would like feedback to see who may and may not agree and Carrie is a good person and sweet and the songs she sings are beautiful.
Julianne from None Of Your Business CreepAnyone still here in 2020?
Synthia from Broken Bow, OkI don't like this song. I thought it would be a religious song at first, but then she used a word of profanity in it. The Bible speaks against using profanity. She's also dancing really vulgar and dressing really slutty. This song is such a disappointment. Doesn't anyone else see the slutty dancing and the slutty outfits? She's being a terrible role model for little girls. How is God going to honor her?! She also seems to glorify drinking and other things, especially when that woman gets abused by her husband and then kills him by poisoning his drink at the end. This woman needs to be exposed for her wrongdoing. SHE IS AN INFIDEL!!!

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Scooby SnacksFun Lovin' Criminals

The Scooby Snacks in the Fun Lovin' Criminals song aren't dog treats, they're Valium pills.

Kiss From A RoseSeal

In "Kiss From A Rose," seal sings "kiss from a rose on a gray," not "grave," but he won't explain the lyric, feeling listeners should adapt the song to their own experience.

TodaySmashing Pumpkins

"Today" by Smashing Pumpkins is sarcastic in the line "today is the greatest day." Lead singer Billy Corgan wrote it about the crippling depression he was battling following the band's first big tour.

Talk To Ya LaterThe Tubes

"Talk To Ya Later" proved the power of MTV when sales of Tubes albums picked up in markets like Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the network was available.

Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' biggest hit is "Under The Bridge," a ballad not typical of their sound. Frontman Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyric after an acute bout of loneliness.

Islands In The StreamKenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.