About Kill a Word

"Kill a Word" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eric Church as a duet with American musician Rhiannon Giddens. It was released in August 2016 as the third single from Church's 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood. Church wrote this song with Luke Dick and Jeff Hyde.

The song is about the power and importance of words, and wanting to "kill" words with negative meanings, such as "hate." The album version features Andrea Davidson and Rhiannon Giddens, the latter a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, on backing vocals. For the single edit, Giddens sings some lines of the song by herself. Church told Rolling Stone that the 2016 presidential election was influential in picking "Kill a Word" as a single: "I would have regretted not putting out 'Kill a Word,' and let this season pass, not knowing if I would get a chance again where it was this relevant, this timely.