'Storm In Their Blood' by Eric Church – Lyrics & Meaning

With his new album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, Eric Church has effectively pushed the boundaries of sound and style, revealing a stark evolution of the gritty country rock elite.

The eight-track collection is marked by bold, double-take-inducing arrangements and wonderfully vulnerable displays of lyricism, making for his most adventurous and personal effort to date.

The album's 'Storm In Their Blood' features a striking mix of it all, the track a masterwork of production and personality.

With the swell of keys and a wash of strums, 'Storm In Their Blood' is born. The personal ballad is bright and airy, punctuated by ambient strings, dazzling piano and effervescent harmonies throughout. While such controlled sounds get unleashed in an instrumental breakdown toward the end of the offering, the song is mostly subdued, an all-around weightless composition for a song with such depth.

"William Wallace
Geronimo
My granddaddy when he didn’t keep his temper on low
Give ‘em hell Harry
Apache war horse paint
And baby me some nights when I’ve had too much to drink"

In 'Storm In Their Blood', Church sings of great men throughout history, like Scottish liberator William Wallace and Apache leader Geronimo. He throws in mentions of his grandfather, as well as himself, mostly remarking on the former's temper and his own character after a few drinks.

While this writer is unsure what the artist has in common with Wallace or Geronimo – two brave men who led resistances against oppressive powers – the song seems to be about being born with a fire in your belly and a call to make a difference.

"Puts a thunder in my chest
And lightning in my eyes
With a mean streak that comes on like a flood
Most men seek love and peace
But some are born with a storm in their blood"

Church sings about an unwillingness to play nice – to "seek love and peace" – instead feeling "a thunder in my chest / And lightning in my eyes" and a need to fight some unknown war.

Just like with Wallace and Geronimo, the artist brings up the Greek hero, Leonidas, and the biblical symbol of strength and victory, the Lion of Judah, using them as devices to make his point: "We all got a battle we gotta fight."

Whether it be an internal struggle or outside forces we're combatting, at the end of the day, we are all fighting for or against something.

In 'Storm In Their Blood', Church is merely remarking on the warrior's spirit, recruiting those historical greats to drive home the idea of strength and perseverance in the face of conflict or adversity.

"Fate whispers to the warrior
You cannot withstand the storm
But the warrior whispers back
I am the storm"

While Church hasn't discussed the meaning behind 'Storm In Their Blood', he briefly touched on its sound and how the robust arrangement was crafted to nail down the number's equally sturdy sentiment.

In a statement, he explained, “The choral part of that song creates a whole different song within a song, with what's going on from the vocal arrangement around what I'm doing that just gives it something we've never done in our career and it's just really an interesting track creatively.”

William Wallace Geronimo
My granddaddy when he didn’t keep his temper on low
Give ‘em hell Harry
Apache war horse paint
And baby me some nights when I’ve had too much to drink

Puts a thunder in my chest
And lightning in my eyes
With a mean streak that comes on like a flood
Most men seek love and peace
But some are born with a storm in their blood

Leonidas on a Spartan Sea
The Lion of Judah flippin’ tables on Pharisees
We all got a battle we gotta fight
Baby won’t you ride with me until I’ve won all of mine

With a thunder in your chest
And lightning in your eyes
And a mean streak that comes on like a flood
Yeah, most will seek love and peace
But some are born with a storm in their blood

Fate whispers to the warrior
You cannot withstand the storm
But the warrior whispers back
I am the storm

––

For more on Eric Church, see below: