"Don't Think Jesus" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Morgan Wallen Morgan Cole Wallen (born May 13, 1993) is an American country pop singer from Sneedville, Tennessee. He competed in the The Voice (American season 6), sixth season of ''The Voice (American TV series), The Voice''. After being eliminated in the ...

. It was released on April 15, 2022, through

Big Loud Big Loud is an American independent multi-sector entertainment company located in Nashville. It consists of a record label, along with music publishing and talent management divisions. Big Loud was founded in 2013 by Craig Wiseman, Joey Moi, Kevi ...

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

, and

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. The song was written by Jessi Alexander, Chase McGill and Mark Holman, and produced by

Joey Moi Joey Moi (born August 9, 1975) is a Canadian record producer, audio engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his work with the rock groups Nickelback and My Darkest Days, and country music acts Chris Lane, Dallas Smith, Florida G ...

Background and composition

The song came about as early as October 2021, when Wallen took to his socials to perform an acoustic version of the song. Wallen said that the track brought him to tears upon first hearing it. Despite not having been written by the singer, it was said to be one of his most personal songs yet. However, it was written with the singer in mind. About the creation of the song, he revealed, "some of my friends sent me a song today…they wrote the song with me on their mind and it made me cry in the truck". Lyrically, the song describes the story of a boy turning to Jesus after having committed several shameful actions. He ultimately announced the song to be his next single in April 2022, deliberately choosing to drop on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

in honor of the Easter weekend. The song was described as a "serious and introspective ballad that takes listener's through an unnamed boy's thoughts on life".

Critical reception

Wes Langeler of ''Whiskey Riff'' said that the track "might just be the most meaningful song he's ever released". Clayton Edwards at ''Outsider'' opined that the tale of the song "probably sounds familiar to Morgan Wallen fans". He saw the "slow, stripped-down, guitar-driven" track as a return to "the songs that launched Morgan Wallen to fame".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Morgan Wallen 2020s ballads 2022 songs Morgan Wallen songs Song recordings produced by Joey Moi Songs written by Chase McGill Country ballads