Little White Church

Album: The Reason Why (2010)
Charted: 59
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This up-tempo Country song is the lead single for American Country band Little Big Town's fourth album, The Reason Why. Nashville-based singer-songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick wrote this song along with the band. When we spoke with Phillip Sweet of Little Big Town, he explained: "We had been writing for the record and were feeling like we were coming up with some cool ideas but not quite landing on something that would start the avalanche of creativity to get this whole record feeling in the right direction. But the day we started writing 'Little White Church' together, it felt that way.

    And it came together pretty fast. Karen (Fairchild) had the idea written in her book, 'little white church,' because you drive around Tennessee in Franklin, you see all these beautiful, quaint, picturesque, little white churches all over the place. And she had the idea for a call and answer type thing. I think her and Kimberly (Schlapman) had been listening a lot to Patty Loveless' Mountain Soul record. And there's all that cool bluegrass call and answer stuff. And so she had the thought of, 'take me down, take me down,' that call and answer."
  • Karen Fairchild told People Country magazine: "Little white churches are on almost every corner. Someone once told me when you're dating a boy, 'Don't wash and fold clothes and cook too much for him, or he'll fall for all of that and not for you.' It happens a lot. Us girls just need to make them work a tiny bit harder!"
  • Want to check out the church in the video? Phillip Sweet told us where it is: "That little white church was actually in Tennessee, and it wasn't too far from Nashville. I want to say maybe 30-45 minutes outside. There's a lot of those little pretty farms, like Watertown and some of those areas. I think that was in Lebanon, maybe. And I'm trying to remember exactly, I don't want to misquote it, but it was hundreds of acres of land and an old iron bridge. After we shot the video, we had to go to the Kentucky Derby and play, and it rained like crazy that weekend. That's when we had all the floods. I think that old bridge that we walked across, the little bridge that we're standing there waiting on Karen in the video, I think that bridge is gone. That creekway flooded it and may have washed that whole bridge out. But it was some beautiful stretch of untainted land. It was pretty cool."
  • This is an example of a song that picked up speed during the recording process. Sweet explained: "When we got to recording for these songs and started tracking that one, it just came to life. It had that raw energy we were looking for. We tried to even track it smaller with 3 to 4 players just so it would have that space and that raw kind of rocking edge. I just love that. Every time that track kicks on, it just jumps out at you. And that's what we wanted. It sounds and feels like we had fun, because we did."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Bible Lyrics

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. Televangelists

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. TelevangelistsSong Writing

When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.