Carly Pearce Talks ‘Church Girl’ Song Blowback

Carly Pearce bravely questioned the idea of faith in a modern world when she released the new song “Church Girl” last month. Written by Carter Faith, Cameron Bedell, and Seth Ennis, the lyrics juxtapose human vices with the teachings of a major religion.

“So you drink and you think for yourself,” Pearce sings. “That don’t mean you’ll go to hell when you leave this world.” The payoff line hinges on a well-placed comma: “Just ’cause you heard it in church, girl.”

In a new interview with Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, the Kentucky singer and songwriter talks about the blowback she received over the song from some fans, who objected to a Christian woman singing such lyrics.

“I think it was surprising to people because my faith is so important to me,” Pearce says, and stresses that “Church Girl” isn’t encouraging listeners to get drunk, high, or be promiscuous. “I’m not condoning reckless behavior.”

Instead, Pearce says she’s singing the song for an audience who may be navigating various issues in their lives. “I’m thinking about the 15-year-old boy in school that maybe is questioning his sexuality and he feels like he can’t be himself,” she says. “I’m singing this song for somebody who maybe has sexual purity trauma — I did — where you’re told, ‘No, that’s bad when you’re a child.’”

She also references her past marriage and divorce: “Jesus says you’re not supposed to get divorce? Really? I know the marriage I had wasn’t what Jesus wanted for me.”

Pearce is currently working on a new album to be released this year. Prior to “Church Girl,” she dropped the powerful song about the sacrifices we make for our careers, “Dream Come True.”

Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone’s weekly country-music podcast, Nashville Now, hosted by senior music editor Joseph Hudak, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature interviews with artists and personalities like Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Charley Crockett, Kings of Leon, Breland, Bryan Andrews, Gavin Adcock, Amanda Shires, Shooter Jennings, Margo Price, Ink, Jay Buchanan, Halestorm, Dusty Slay, Lukas Nelson, Ashley Monroe, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, Clever, and journalists Marissa R. Moss and Josh Crutchmer.

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