Mitchell Tenpenny fans were excited on Friday when the songwriter released his first song of the new year, ‘Can’t Go to Church.’ The melancholy melody and chiming church bells introduce the song. Based on the title, one might think you’re about the listen to a song of lost faith. However, by the time you get to the chorus, you realize it is something different. “I ain’t trying to avoid that place, but I don’t know what else to do. I don’t wanna see her face sittin’ in the front pew.” It is not his faith he is avoiding, but the familiar face of someone he used to love. Deeper into the story, Tenpenny explains he’ll still pray, but he can’t go to the church because he can’t risk seeing “her” anymore.
This is a song that walks you through the agonizing aftermath of a heart break. During and after a breakup, you want to avoid “that” person as much as possible, but when the one person you are trying to avoid is in familiar places, moving forward can be complicated. In this song, Tenpenny focuses on the person, the building, the place, not church. “Now, it ain’t fair that we gotta share the same place where everybody does their healin.”
Tenpenny’s raspy voice helps you to hear the pain and his haunting lyrics help paint a picture of the heartbreak. The fan favorited single is written by Mitchell Tenpenny, Matt Rogers and Jordan Schmidt and is available everywhere now.
Favorite Lyric: Ain’t it crazy how an angel can drag a man through hell?