The fifth (and I’m guessing final) single from Eric Church’s
award-winning (and chart staying – still #10 this week) 2011 release ‘Chief’ is
‘Like Jesus Does’. I was surprised to hear this as it’s not the most commercial
song in the world, being a quiet ballad that doesn’t try to intrude upon your
life if you don’t want it too. It’s easily ignored.

But that’s almost the beauty of it. Previously, the other
singles from ‘Chief’ have been fairly upbeat and rock-infused, for example
‘Drink In My Hand’, ‘Creepin’’ and ‘Homeboy’. ‘Springsteen’ is perhaps an
exception at times but the chorus sells it on a mass scale. ‘Like Jesus Does’
however, waits for you to come to it – it doesn’t shout you down and demand
attention. In this way it intrigues me more, because its understated nature is
perfect for the deep and thoughtful lyrics. It is a song of thanks,
essentially; of how the narrator’s wife/partner loves him so unconditionally it
is almost akin to the love Jesus has for him. That’s a powerful metaphor for
love if ever I saw it. It doesn’t get bigger than that.

As I watched the new video for it on YouTube, I read the
usually juvenile comments that actually raised an interesting point. People
were pointing out their religious beliefs in reference to the song, for example
atheists saying that they still loved the song despite not believing in Jesus.
And I think that’s a valid point. From the title one would assume that it is a
spiritual song, but it rather is a commentary on true love, and even if someone
does not believe in Jesus, they can appreciate the sentiment with just a casual
knowledge of the basics of Christianity. It is universal songs like this that
are often the most successful.

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