Country music star Eric Church gave the spring commencement speech at UNC-Chapel Hill on Saturday, May 9. The charismatic singer made the most of the opportunity. He is from North Carolina and is known to be a loyal Tar Heels follower. Sounds like Church was a natural choice for the immense honor.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Per Country Now, Church "built his speech around the six strings of a guitar, using each one to symbolize an important pillar of life." I have to hand it to him for cleverly using that metaphor. Many commencement speeches are long on advice for grads' lives, careers, and future, but short on innovation. Eric Church broke the mold. Not only what he said, but the way he said it, will surely linger in these young people's minds for a long time.
Church Discarded His Early Attempts To Craft the Speech
Writing speeches is tough, even for those who do it routinely. It's hard to be concise, impactful, and relevant. A good speech can't be too long-winded, either. Finding the right words to convey your meaning can be challenging. So it's not surprising that Church was stumped at first when he sat down to write. Then, per the outlet, he turned to music for inspiration. He drew a parallel between life and the strings of a guitar.
Church got his oration underway with this compelling intro, "Six strings. When all six are in tune, the chords they make can stop a conversation cold. Carry a broken person through the worst night of their life or make a room full of strangers fee for three minutes like they've known each other forever. But if even one is off, the whole chord unravels. Not gradually, not politely. The moment you strike it, you know I believe your life runs on this principle and I'm going to break it down for you right now and tell you about your strings."
He Concluded With This Meaningful Sentiment
Eric Church, seemingly felt strongly about what he told the grads. His address was powerful, moving, and sincere. The singer has learned a lot in his life. He evidently wanted to encapsulate some of that knowledge and pass it along. Church's lived experience has value to him and clearly to many others.
He wrapped up with this. "Six strings. Six strings of life and willingness to keep them in tune. Six principles, six pillars. When all six are in tune with each other, the chord your life makes is full and resonant and truth. All six will drift, not one or two, all six in their own time, in their own season...This is not failure. This is not weakness. It's the inevitable universal experience of living in an imperfect world that doesn't stop to let us tune up."
Church went on, "Trust what your heart hears and is telling you about your song. So graduates, now I encourage you to take your six strings, make it something worth hearing and play your song as I leave you with mine." He then sang "Carolina." How lovely and fitting!
