(NASHVILLE, TN) Picture this: a child yearning for food on a grimy floor, a solitary man with his shiny Porsche, a single mother grinding through her second shift, and a teenage girl bearing the scars of her struggles.
From the first notes of “When the Kingdom Comes,” the latest track by country music sensation Lee Brice, it’s clear this song will stir emotions and send shivers down your spine. Brice, a seasoned artist with nine chart-topping singles like “I Drive Your Truck,” “Hard to Love,” and “I Don’t Dance,” delivers a track that resonates differently, showcasing his deep dive into personal roots and the complexities of human life.
While every song carries its unique narrative, the journey behind “When the Kingdom Comes” is a compelling story in its own right. We sat down with Brice and his wife Sara, who co-wrote the song, to explore its creation from concept to completion—a voyage sparked by a simple title.
It all began over a year and a half ago when Jon Stone, a close friend and multi-platinum songwriter, called the Brices one night, brimming with excitement over a song title. The moment Lee and Sara heard “When the Kingdom Comes,” they knew it was a concept worth pursuing. However, the timing wasn’t right until one night, after a late dinner, inspiration struck Lee with the kind of urgency he felt when writing his previous hits. “I had one of those moments,” Lee shared with us. “I knew I had to write this song.”
Every song has a story to tell but, in many cases, the story behind how a song is written and eventually released is often a story in itself. When the Kingdom Comes is no exception. – News caught up with Brice and his wife, Sara, a co-writer on the song, for an exclusive interview in which we learned about this song’s journey from ideation to fruition, and that journey started with a title.
A little over a year and a half ago, a good friend and collaborator, multi-platinum songwriter, Jon Stone, called the Brices late one night, excited about a title for a song. When Lee and Sara heard the title When the Kingdom Comes, they both knew immediately they had to pursue it. But sometimes life gets in the way and timing provides a hurdle. It wasn’t until a year and a half later that Lee and Sara were finishing up a late dinner, and Lee found himself the recipient of a type of inspiration he had felt before when writing songs that eventually went to #1. “I had one of those moments and I’ve had couple of ‘em like I Don’t Dance and One of Them Girls,” Lee told – News. “I have to write this song.”
That evening marked the birth of “When the Kingdom Comes.” Lee and Sara enlisted the help of Billy Montana, a multi-platinum, award-winning songwriter whom Lee regards as a “faith mentor and a poet.”
As the trio gathered, the song quickly came to life. Lee had been envisioning the chorus for over a year, complete with melody and imagery. The challenge was crafting the verses. Sara revealed she was deeply affected by thoughts of child trafficking and her younger half-sister, who was struggling with self-harm and faith. In the writing session, Sara visualized “hungry kids,” and Montana contributed “a hungry kid on a dirty floor,” followed by “a lonely man and his silver Porsche.” Lee added “a single mom on her second shift,” and drawing inspiration from his sister-in-law’s plight, they concluded with “a teenage girl with scars on her wrist.” This collaborative effort highlights the intricate process of songwriting.
When the three got in a room, the song “fell out quickly,” according to Sara. Lee had been hearing the chorus in his head for over a year. He had the melody and the imagery. It was the verses they needed to hone in on. Sara told us that child trafficking was heavy on her mind at the time and not only that, her younger half-sister has been cutting herself, was broken and “in a really bad place and questioning her faith.” So, when the writers began to discuss ideas Sara said “I picture hungry kids.” And then Montana said “a hungry kid on a dirty floor,” and added “a lonely man and his silver Porsche” and Lee added “a single mom on her second shift,” and then thinking of his wife’s sister, the final line revealed itself, “a teenage girl with scars on her wrist.” This is the songwriting process.
Montana described the writing process that night to – News: “I remember feeling like the whole night was one of those ‘meant to be’ moments… hanging out on the back porch in the quiet night air, it all just felt like it was supposed to happen. I got chills several times during the writing process – something that rarely happens. It made me believe the song’s message was way bigger than we were.”
Songwriter Billy Montana Courtesy of Redlight Management/ Chase Lauer
And when you hear When the Kingdom Comes, you know that Montana’s words are an apt description. For Lee, the idea of the song was originally about a “big destination moment…there’s gonna be a time when everything is gonna be okay,” he told us. A sentiment powerfully on display in the chorus lyric:
When the Kingdom comes
When we see the Son
Rollin’ back the sky
There’ll be nothin’ left
Nothin’ left but love
When the Kingdom comes
But as he lived with the song, Lee told us he started thinking “every day right here is heaven on earth. You know, the Kingdom can come for you tomorrow…the Kingdom is every day you wake up. That’s what Jesus intended for us.”
When asked what he wants listeners to take away from the song, one word summed it up for Lee…..hope. Sara chimed in with some scripture: “Don’t be anxious. Don’t be afraid.”
Lee and Sara Brice
Some songs give you goosebumps. Most don’t. When the Kingdom Comes is definitely the former, and what makes it one of those songs is not only the compassion and faith that rings true from four amazing songwriting talents, but Lee’s signature vocal delivery. There’s a power and an honesty. You believe him when he sings, and those characters in the song and the video who represent all of us struggling with our individual journeys, we can hear those words and that voice and feel that everything is in fact, gonna be okay.
And it all started with a title from Jon Stone.
When the Kingdom Comes is available now from Lee Brice’s upcoming record “Sunriser” set to be released this Fall.
***Sara’s half-sister has since found her faith and made an appearance in the music video.
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WHEN THE KINGDOM COMES (LYRICS) – Brice, Brice, Montana, Stone
A hungry kid
On a dirty floor
A lonely man
In his silver Porsche
A single mom
On her second shift
A teenage girl
With scars on her wrist
When the Kingdom comes
When we all know why
When we see the Son
Rollin’ back the sky
There’ll be nothin’ left
Nothin’ left but love
When the Kingdom comes
When the Kingdom comes
Every shattered soul
Every shade of skin
All the broken hearts
Are gonna beat again
Gonna find their way
Gonna feel the cost
Some iron nails
And a wooden cross
When the Kingdom comes
When we all know why
When we see the Son
Rollin’ back the sky
There’ll be nothin’ left
Nothin’ left but love
When the Kingdom comes
When the Kingdom comes
When the first are last
And the last are first
Won’t be no hunger
Won’t be no thirst
When the Kingdom comes
When we all know why
When we see the Son
Rollin’ back the sky
There’ll be nothin’ left
Nothin’ left but love
When the Kingdom comes
We’re gonna all know why
We’re gonna see the Son
Rollin back the sky
There’ll be nothin’ left
Nothin’ left but love
When the Kingdom comes
When the Kingdom comes
When the Kingdom comes
FOLLOW LEE BRICE
FOLLOW SARA BRICE
FOLLOW BILLY MONTANA
FOLLOW JON STONE
