Eric Church had headlined Day One of the Route 91 Harvest Festival, which turned deadly on the third day, due to a horrific mass shooting in 2017. He's written several songs based on that tragedy, including his latest single, "Monsters," which compares prayer to turning on the lights to keep the monsters away.
"I think monsters, after Vegas, became just more real to me," he explains in a statement from his label. "There was a specific night I can remember going into my oldest son, Boone's, room, and his closet light, or the bathroom light, the dimmer wasn't right. It wasn't bright enough and he wanted it brighter. And when I went in and made it a little brighter, he said, 'That's good. That's good. That's perfect.'
"And it wasn't much but that stuck with me — this was pre-writing the song — but that stuck with me that's kind of all he needed was a little more light. And I think that when I wrote that song, there was that subconscious thing that was there the entire time, and then Vegas happened and right after Vegas, we got together with [co-writer] Jeff [Hyde], and we started talking about all this stuff and the song, it happened so fast; the way songs are supposed to happen when they're that kind of song. It just happened.
"And it will always be a song that I think about where I was at that time in my life, where my kids were, and how just that little bit of light, is what made the difference. That's the key, that's where the second verse goes to and the overall theme of monsters is it's just that much, you know? It's not 'this much.' It's not a big blinding light. It's this much light that made the difference and that little nugget is what I carry with me on that."
