The Fascinating Story Behind Lainey Wilson's Brand New Song, ‘People Need Jesus’

During her special performance at the Country Music Hall of Fame as part of her Tough As Nails exhibit, Lainey Wilson has debuted a brand new song, titled ‘People Need Jesus’.

Despite the name implying a weighty and perhaps intense narrative, in reality, ‘People Need Jesus’ is a hilarious, rip-roaring ride through a plethora of tongue-in-cheek, small-town vignettes, all of which find Lainey concluding, “People Need Jesus”.

Penned and performed with Trannie Anderson and Dallas Wilson of the Heart Wranglers, ‘People Need Jesus’ has an interesting origin story, with Lainey regaling attendees at her exclusive showcase with the unique way in which the track came about.

The 2025 CMA Entertainer of the Year has shared that the idea for the song stemmed from Lainey and Trannie discussing some gossip that was spreading, and sighing, “Lord, people need Jesus”. The country icon recalls, “Okay, so then that next morning, I was laying in bed, and I was like, ‘Okay, let me think about some people back at home....Let me think about these people’. And I sent this first verse...”

“Preacher got caught with a trifling woman
It wasn't his sweet, little wife
Terry and Tamara had [...] a camera
Just for a Facebook fight
An ‘ol boy named Paul he was running from the law
Yelled, ‘Hey y’all, watch this’
When the sun went dim, aw Bill took a swim
Right where the alligator sits”

Amusingly, Dallas wasn't awake yet, and only joined in on the fun partway through. Lainey reflects, “We were texting back-and-forth that morning. Then Tranny sent me a couple lines and then Dallas wakes up, and he’s like, ‘Yo, what are y’all doing?’ I said, ‘We're writing a song through text messaging!’ Then we came up with this...”

“Hank that the bank took himself 2K
Out the door before it closed at six
An ‘ol fart named Bart getting stoned in the yard
[Selling] pot to the neighborhood kids
My girlfriend named Gina in her polka dot bikini
Come off for the TikTok clout
Well, I hit a deer sometime last year
Told myself it’ll buff right out”

(Please bear in mind we're getting these lyrics from a first listen, so they might not all be 100% right, and they might end up changing as Lainey, Trannie and Dallas hone the track.)

The Louisiana native goes on to share how she was watching a sermon, and it inspired her to offer some sage words of wisdom and end ‘People Need Jesus’ on a deeper note.

Lainey explains, “So I watched this sermon. There’s this preacher named Robert Madu. He preaches out of Dallas [at] this church called Social Dallas… And he was talking about discord, you know, talking bad about people… And as I was writing this song, talking bad about these people...this is what I thought to myself...”.

“I don’t sew, but I’m sowing discord
And I know that it just ain’t right
So when it’s time for bed, Imma read a little red
Pray a little extra tonight”

It's a fascinating insight into the creative process behind ‘People Need Jesus’, and given the song's inspiring message and the infectious hook, we're keeping everything crossed that the ‘Somewhere Over Laredo’ chart-topper plans to release it very soon.

Excitingly, during her No. 1 party for ‘Somewhere Over Laredo’, the ‘4X4XU’ hitmaker confirms there's plenty of new music en route, “We're already cookin’ some stuff up. To tell you the truth, we were already in the kitchen cookin’ it up before Whirlwind was even out, which was a year and a half ago now. I feel like we're always writing, because I don't feel like I'm myself if I'm not creating and writing”.

The ‘4X4XU’ singer-songwriter expands, “I feel like that's the thing that gets me through all the business and all the other parts of the job the easiest. So I think people are really gonna love what we've been workin’ on. I mean, of course I'm partial. But yeah I think it definitely is going to show another side of my artistry, while always staying true to myself. But the more life I live, the more experience I have, the more I realise I've got more to say and share, and it's gonna be good”.

Well, we wan't wait to hear what else Lainey has up her sleeve for 2026, and if ‘People Need Jesus’ is any indication of her forthcoming music, we think it's safe to say she'll have a strong shot at retaining her CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year crown...

For the full lyrics so far to Lainey Wilson's ‘People Need Jesus’, see below:

“Preacher got caught with a trifling woman
It wasn't his sweet, little wife
Terry and Tamara had [...] a camera
Just for a Facebook fight
An ‘ol boy named Paul he was running from the law
Yelled, ‘Hey y’all, watch this’
When the sun went dim, aw Bill took a swim
Right where the alligator sits

-

People need Jesus
People need Jesus
People need Jesus
Ain’t that the gospel truth?
People need Jesus
People need Jesus
And I need Jesus
As much as they all do

-

Hank that the bank took himself 2K
Out the door before it closed at six
An ‘ol fart named Bart getting stoned in the yard
[Selling] pot to the neighborhood kids
My girlfriend named Gina in her polka dot bikini
Come off for the TikTok clout
Well, I hit a deer sometime last year
Told myself it’ll buff right out

-

People need Jesus
People need Jesus
People need Jesus
Ain’t that the gospel truth?
People need Jesus
People need Jesus
And I need Jesus
As much as they all do

-

I don’t sew, but I’m sowing discord
And I know that it just ain’t right
So when it’s time for bed, Imma read a little red
Pray a little extra tonight

-

People need Jesus
People need Jesus
People need Jesus
Ain’t that the gospel truth?
People need Jesus
People need Jesus
And I need Jesus
As much as they all do”

For more on Lainey Wilson, see below: