2019 was the year country singer and former The Voice coach Blake Shelton found God, and it was also the year that he felt his faith soared. As a testament to that, he released a compilation album titled Fully Loaded: God’s Country. “Jesus Got a Tight Grip” was one of the five fresh tracks, dropping it ahead of the album and in celebration of his then-upcoming tour.
The song followed the release of two Blake Shelton songs, “God’s Country” and “Hell Right,” which were both controversial due to their lyrics. That’s because fans weren’t just having any of the message and the shade. However, he was able to bounce back with the modern country-gospel track, uniting opposing attitudes from his previous singles.
In a Twitter post, Shelton noted how “Hell Right” and “Jesus Got a Tight Grip” were tight on the iTunes country music chart. He wrote in the caption, “No one can ever say I don’t cover both ends of the spectrum.”
Meaning Behind The Song
So, how did Blake Shelton get back on track and out of the “hate train” he was on? By writing and singing his faith in God wholeheartedly – that despite him being an angel nor a saint, a little more cold beer than holy water, as long as He had a tight grip on his soul, he would be all right. The darkness may try and reach him, but it won’t grab ahold of him. He then finally crooned, “When I’m gone / I know where I’ll go / ‘cause Jesus got a tight grip on my soul.”
For You
He also mentioned legendary outlaw country artist Hank Williams, saying, “But even old Hank Williams /Finally, saw the light,” which was in reference to Williams’ hit country gospel, “I Saw the Light.”
Shelton co-wrote the track with a few people: Jessi Alexander (with whom he also collaborated on his last holy hit, “Savior’s Shadow”), Chase McGill, and Rhett Akins. According to Shelton, the inspiration behind his new dedication to his faith first sparked with his unlikely relationship with fellow singer Gwen Stefani. They first met on the set of NBC’s The Voice and were both in the middle of messy divorces.
He said that he believed in God now more than ever in his life, noting that the timing of Gwen walking into his life was just too weird that if God were taken out of the equation, it wouldn’t make sense. “If you put God into it, everything that’s happened with us makes sense.”
Catch Blake Shelton’s “Jesus Got a Tight Grip” live from The Soundstage Sessions with Jenee Fleenor in the video below.
