In this season of commencement addresses, country music singer Eric Church brought down the house May 9 with his incredibly thought-provoking speech summing up the “six strings of life.”
Church admitted he fretted over what to say in the eight months leading up to his speech. He recounted how he finally gave up his contemplation and just picked up his guitar to forget it all for a moment.
And that’s when he imagined the message he gave to graduates of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that has clearly struck a chord with the millions who have watched it online.
“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 feel 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,” Church said while strumming along on stage.
“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.”
