Hell on the Heart

"Hell on the Heart" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Eric Church. It was released in October 2009 as the seventh single of his career and the second one from his 2009 album Carolina. The song became Church's second Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with a peak at number 10. Church wrote this song with Deric Ruttan and Jeremy Spillman.

"Hell on the Heart"
Single by Eric Church
from the album Carolina
ReleasedOctober 12, 2009 (2009-10-12)
Recorded2009
GenreCountry
Length2:44
LabelCapitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jay Joyce
Eric Church singles chronology
"Love Your Love the Most"
(2009)		 "Hell on the Heart"
(2009)		 "Smoke a Little Smoke"
(2010)

Content

In "Hell on the Heart," the male narrator addresses about a girl he knows, staying that she is "heaven on the eyes / But boy, she's hell on the heart."[1]

Critical reception

Giving it three stars out of five, Chris Neal of Country Weekly magazine said that it "plays like an afterthought tucked away near the end of Carolina, but its modest charms stand up reasonably well on their own."[2] Karlie Justus of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs-up, criticizing the "lazy" lyrics and "awkward" production, but said that it showed Church's "knack for composing a hook that can make even the most inane song[…]stick with listeners after its three minutes expire."[1] Both Neal and Justus compared the song's theme to Terri Clark's 1998 single "You're Easy on the Eyes."

Beatles-esque?

Some listeners have described this song as "Beatles-esque", and Eric and the band appear to be aware of this similarity - the online video of the song features them on a low, sparsely furnished stage in suits and neckties, with the drummer sitting and drumming in the rear in a very Ringo-like manner behind a slimmed-down kit and frequent shots of the mainly female audience, as in old films of Beatles performances from the 1960s. Only the Vox AC30 amps are missing.

Chart performance

"Hell on the Heart" debuted at number 52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts dated for the week of October 24, 2009, and, like his previous hit, "Love Your Love The Most," this one peaked at number 10.

Chart (2009–2010) Peak
position
Canada Country (Billboard)[3] 20
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] 10
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 67

Year-end charts
Chart (2010) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[6] 54

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[7] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Justus, Karlie (1 October 2009). "Eric Church — "Hell on the Heart"". Engine 145. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  2. Neal, Chris (16 November 2009). "Reviews: Singles". Country Weekly. 16 (40): 54. ISSN 1074-3235.
  3. "Eric Church Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  4. "Eric Church Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  5. "Eric Church Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  6. "Best of 2010: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  7. "American single certifications – Eric Church – Hell on the Heart". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
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