With a heavy heart.
On September 10th, conservative activist and media personality Charlie Kirk passed away at the age of 31 after being shot in the neck during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. Kirk was known for being a founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. Kirk would often host speaking engagements on college campuses, where students could come and discuss various political and spiritual topics and issues with Charlie. He was a devoted father and husband, a Christian and a patriot.
The senseless act is truly gut-wrenching, especially when Kirk’s mission was to have a conversation among those with differing opinions. He famously shared that the entire goal of these conversations was to AVOID violence. He argued that as long as we’re still talking, still debating, still standing face to face with people who disagree with us, we won’t lose our sense of humanity:
“When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. That’s when civil war happens. Because you start to think the other side is so evil, and they lose their humanity.”
On top of the heartbreaking assassination of Kirk, a Colorado high school was also in mourning as a school shooting occurred in Evergreen, Colorado. A 16 year old opened fire on classmates, injuring two, before turning the gun on himself. He later died from his injuries.
We know music heals, but music also helps us process heavy emotions. Texas artist Mitchell Ferguson penned a tragically beautiful ballad about yesterday’s events, showing how powerful music can be. Elizabeth Nichols called out hypocrites celebrating Charlie’s death with her thought-provoking song. However, some songs already exist that sadly reflect the somber feeling in the air.
“If I Were the Devil” is by far Colby Acuff’s biggest song to date. The tune has amassed well over 100 million streams on Spotify alone since it was released in 2021 as the title track for his sophomore record of the same name.
The heartbreaking song discusses the evils of the world and how the devil would be appalled by the things occurring on this Earth. The music is heavy, it’s real, and it’s raw. After yesterday’s events, Acuff took to X to share some thoughts about the song and how it rings truer than ever five years after he penned it.
I wrote ‘If I Were the Devil’ 5 years ago and I might as well have written it yesterday.
I hate that it gets truer every day. It makes me sick to think that it’s my most popular song. That so many of you have related to such a terrible thing. And that it’s not just a song but it’s a reality.
Today I’ve been in tagged in so many stories/videos/posts of people listening to it today. In a perfect world no one would ever have to write that song. I wrote that song as a scared 23 year old and tonight I’m gunna sing it for the millionth time as a scared 28 year old.
We need to be so much better. Love will always win. Be good.”
Acuff’s statement has never rung truer. Going back and revisiting the lyrics of this song is heartbreakingly accurate for the state of the nation after yesterday’s horrific events. The country is more divided than ever, pointing fingers at which political party is responsible for the death of Charlie Kirk instead of having human compassion for a God fearing family man who was brutally assassinated.
I don’t care what your political beliefs are, it’s so sickening to see people have no sympathy for Kirk and his family. And it goes beyond a lack of sympathy… people are downright celebrating the fact that a non-violent man was murdered in front of his wife and two young kids.
Re-reading these lyrics perfectly sums up the divisive nature of our country and how broken we are, allowing the evils of the world to divide us and make us point fingers at one another instead of coming together.
Take a minute to read the lyrics, and I think you will find them heartbreakingly true. Colby Acuff is an influential songwriter, and the tragic timelessness of this song highlights that:
“If I were the devil, first thing that’d I’d do
Is I’d come off like I ever gave a damn about you
I’d let you catch a peek of all your greatest desires
And I’d watch the flames in your eyes burn like hellfire
Find all the wolves in the land
And I’d make them fight each other
Tooth and nail and hand to hand
Find all the sheep, make ’em stir up the pot
‘Cause once the wolves have killed each other
Sheep are what I want
The devil walks among us, friends, I know this is true
And I don’t know if he’s red, and I don’t know if he’s blue
One thing that I know, we need to take a look around
If I were the devil, this world would be my playground”
Just as the words Colby wrote in his tweet say, “Love will always win.” Spread more love and less hate.
