Eric Church is giving back to his home state in a big way. The 47-year-old penned a new song, “Darkest Hour,” in response to the ongoing devastation following Hurricane Helene, donating all of the proceeds from his publishing royalties to the people of North Carolina.

“From Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida which took a direct hit, there are so many places that were impacted,” Church says. “Specifically in the area that I’m from, the mountains of Western North Carolina were devastated. There are places that are just biblically gone. These are our family members, they’re our friends, they’re our neighbors – and they’re in dire need of help.

“And I’ve been in the studio for a while, trying some different things and exploring creativity,” he continues. “I had this song that I’d written, and the line that struck me in light of the recent devastation was ‘I’ll come running,’ because there are a lot of people out there right now who are in their darkest hour and they need people to come running. We were going to wait to release music until next year, but it just didn’t feel right to wait with this song. Sometimes you give songs their moment and sometimes they find their own moment.”

Church has already been helping in the recovery efforts, but is using “Darkest Hour” as a long-term aid for the lengthy recovery process it will take to rebuild.

“This song, ‘Darkest Hour,’ was the best way I could think to try to help,” Church explains. “We’ve been helping with boots on the ground efforts, but this is something that will live beyond just the immediate recovery. This is not a quick thing to fix, so hopefully ‘Darkest Hour’ will be able to contribute to that for a long time to come. This song goes to my home, North Carolina, now and forever.”

Church dedicates “Darkest Hour” to the “unsung heroes, the people who show up when the world’s falling apart.”

“This is for the folks who show up in the hardest times, offering a hand when it’s most needed, and standing tall when others can’t,” Church shares. “Even in your darkest hour, they come running. When the night’s at its blackest, this is for those who are holding the light, guiding the lost and pulling us through. The message of the song specifically in this time is about Hurricane Helene and the people that need help, but in a broader view, it’s about any challenging times that we have in our life, which we’ll all have.

“And it’s always important to know that in your darkest hour, there are people that will come running, there are people that will help,” he concludes. “And I think it’s also important to be one of the people that go running when other people need help.”

“This song, ‘Darkest Hour,’ was the best way I could think to try to help. We’ve been helping with boots on the ground efforts, but this is something that will live beyond just the immediate recovery. This is not a quick thing to fix, so hopefully ‘Darkest Hour’ will be able to… pic.twitter.com/N14lNrda3D

— Eric Church (@ericchurch) October 4, 2024

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Church also spoke out about “Darkest Hour” in a video he shared on social media.

“As you know, I spend half of my year in the mountains of North Carolina,” Church says. “It’s a refuge for me. It’s a place I’ve always said where my soul is at rest. Hurricane Helene came through and devastated it. There are places that are just biblically gone in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. Also South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, but specifically my area, in Western North Carolina. In the mountains there, there are still people we haven’t found.”

Church goes on to say he was already working on new music when he had the idea to give “Darkest Hour” to the people of North Carolina.

“I felt hopeless, like ‘What can we do? How can we help?,'” Church recalls. “I’ve been doing a lot of organizational stuff, to get supplies to people there, but I wanted to do more, specifically with awareness. This songs called ‘Darkest Hour.’ I’ve given this song to North Carolina, to the people of North Carolina. I’m signing the publishing away. It will no longer be mine. It will belong to the people in the state of North Carolina. And hopefully, our proceeds will matter now, but it will also matter in the future. ”

In addition to donating the proceeds from “Darkest Hour” to those in need, the father of two is also using his own nonprofit, Chief Cares, to help those in all states affected by Hurricane Helene. Find “Darkest Hour” at EricChurch.com.