Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Eric Church
Acoustic Guitar
Jay Joyce
Electric Guitar
Lee Hendricks
Bass
Craig Wright
Drums
Jeff Hyde
Acoustic Guitar
Luke Dick
Background Vocals
Rhiannon Giddens
Background Vocals
Andrea Davidson
Background Vocals
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Eric Church
Songwriter
Jeff Hyde
Songwriter
Luke Dick
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Jay Joyce
Producer
Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
Executive Producer
Jason Hall
Mixing Engineer
Paul Cossette
Assistant Recording Engineer
Caleb Vanbuskirk
Assistant Recording Engineer
Andrew Mendelson
Mastering Engineer
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
If I could kill a word and watch it die
I'd poison "never," and shoot "goodbye"
And beat "regret" when I felt I had the nerve
Yeah, I'd pound "fear" to a pile of sand
Choke "lonely" out with my bare hands
And I'd hang "hate" so that it can't be heard
If I could only kill a word
[Verse 2]
I'd take "brokenness" out back
And break "heartbreak," stand there and laugh
Right in its face while shootin' it the bird
I'd put "upset" down in its place
I'd squeeze the life out of "disgrace"
Lay "over" under six cold feet of dirt
If I could only kill a word
[Chorus]
Give me sticks, give me stones
Bend my body, break my bones
Use staff and rod to turn me black and blue
'Cause you can't unhear, you can't unsay
But if it were up to me to change
I'd turn "lies" and "hate" to "love" and "truth"
If I could only kill a word
[Verse 3]
I'd knock out "temptation"'s teeth
I'd sever "evil," let it bleed
And light up "wicked," stand and watch it burn
I'd take "vice" and I'd take "vile"
And tie 'em up there with "hostile"
Hang 'em high and leave 'em for the birds
If I could only kill a word
[Chorus]
So give me sticks, give me stones (Give me sticks and stones)
Bend my body, break my bones (Break my bone)
Use staff and rod to turn me black and blue (Oh, turn me blue)
'Cause you can't unhear, you can't unsay (You can't unsay)
But if it were up to me to change
I'd turn "lies" and "hate" to "love" and "truth"
If I could only kill a word
If I could only
Kill a word
Written by: Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Luke Dick