Eric Church’s last single —“The Outsiders” — went so far into the hard rock direction that it was instantly dismissed in some circles as not worthy of ever being played on a modern Country music station. It’s a situation that isn’t unlike Church’s first single “Home Boy” from Chief. So, with that song announcing the arrival of new Eric Church music, “Give Me Back My Hometown” is set to be the song that becomes another big hit on the very same stations that dismissed “The Outsiders.”
Jay Joyce’s production once again finds musically interesting things to do while Church earnestly sings about the loss of his hometown, not because it’s actually gone or changed but because the girl who helped it make it worthwhile has left him and the town back. So in essence, the lyrics are about a girl, as many songs are. The song has a moody, mid-tempo melody which helps accentuate the lyrics. The chorus is essentially two lines, “give me back my hometown, ‘Cause this is my hometown” and that may not be great for some but in the grand scheme of things, there’s just enough repetition with those lines (and the later Yeah, ooohh, yeah, yeah vocal gymnastics) to help this single on its path to radio supremacy.
Will all fans be pleased about “Give Me Back My Hometown?” No, just like not all of Eric Church’s fans were pleased by “The Outsiders” or any of his previous hits for that matter. But for the middle of the road fan who likes the softer moments of Eric Church’s music (“Springsteen,” “Love Your Love The Most”) this one should easily be much more pleasing to them than "The Ousiders" was.
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