Day 32 - Church

An ex-prisoner turned hip-hop, rap and contemporary country singer might not be where you expected this article to start but, hey! why be predictable?

On 2nd June 2023, artist Jelly Roll released his ninth studio album Whitsitt Chapel and his first with a country music focus at its core. As Jelly Roll himself described it, the album is ‘real music for real people with real problems’. The album is a treasure trove of fantastic music, and every song deserves an article. However, I am limited to just one and this is the second track on the album - Church’.

So, before we continue, please open up whatever application you use for music – be it Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, Apple Music etc.etc. - and find this song. Give it a listen and then come back. Don’t worry, we’ll wait.

All sorted? Cool, let’s continue.

A little context on Jelly Roll might be in order I believe. Born Jason Bradley DeFord in Antioch, Tennesse, his father was a meat salesman and bookie, and his mother struggled with both mental illness and addiction issues. He was baptised at age 14 but was arrested in the same year. For the next ten years, Jason would be in and out of prison, charged with various crimes, including possession with intent to distribute and aggravated robbery.

Although baptised at 14, DeFord had stopped going to church and associating himself as Christian soon before his first arrest. After his release, he had never gone back until his daughter expressed an interest in attending a church service and Jelly Roll, he said in an email, decided to go along and see ‘what sort of Cult’ she was joining. However, what he found was the sense of welcome and acceptance that I hope epitomises what we all strive for as churches.

So, onto the music.

‘Church’ is a poignant, reflective piece of music that shows Jelly Roll’s difficult and unconventional journey to faith. The whole song is fantastic, from both a lyrical and a melodic standpoint. However, let’s have a look at two very interesting parts – the chorus and the second verse.

I ain't going where the wild things are, I ain't going to the cigarette store

I ain't going to the cold beer bar to check in on the Tennessee score

I'm just having me a talk with The Man, sendin' my old soul on a search

They might judge me on this two-lane road, but little do they know

I'm going to church, I'm going to church

The chorus is a warning to all of us, I think. We are all guilty of judging people on their appearances. Jelly Roll, as you will see if you look at any photos, has a face full of tattoos and is not the kind of person, perhaps, we expect to come through our church doors. That being said, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be as full of faith as us, nor that we can shut our doors on them. It is not up to us to decide who God calls to be his followers. Instead, it’s up to us to welcome anyone and everyone to hear the good news.

I guess there's just some things you just can't outrun

There ain't no back pew in this truck, so I'm forced to sit in the front

And ain't it funny how He's working in mysterious ways?

Hell, I skipped my share of sermons, so He brought one to this Chevrolet

The next point in verse two is a reminder to all of that it doesn’t have to be a Sunday in church when we hear God calling us, it could be a Saturday morning in the front seat of a truck. And that means we always need to be ready and willing to listen to what God is asking of us.

Why don’t you listen to the rest of that album – I think it’s an absolute masterpiece. If you’re hooked, like me, explore his back catalogue – one of his most recent singles ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’ was a close second for this article.

Well that’s all folks! Until next time, God bless.

Harry Booton