I grew up in North Carolina, and they have a soft drink called

In the words of Eric Church, the troubadour of heartland and highway, there flows a gentle confession: “I grew up in North Carolina, and they have a soft drink called Sun Drop. I love the diet version of it. It's the greatest thing on the face of the earth. I always have it in my fridge—bus fridge and home fridge.” At first, these words may seem simple, even playful—a man’s affection for a familiar drink. Yet beneath this sweetness lies something deeper, something timeless: the power of memory, the sacredness of home, and the quiet truth that the smallest comforts often carry the greatest meaning. For in this humble Sun Drop, Church has found not just flavor, but connection—a link between his present and his past, between the man he has become and the boy he once was.

To speak of such a thing with reverence is no jest. The ancients, too, held that every person must keep a taste, a sound, or a scent that calls them back to their beginnings. It is said that when Odysseus wandered far from Ithaca, what he longed for most was not his throne, but the smell of the sea that broke against his homeland’s shores. So too does Eric Church, a traveler of modern roads and roaring stages, find in a bottle of Sun Drop the taste of his own Ithaca—the taste of childhood sunlight, laughter, and the rhythm of simpler days. It is not the drink itself that is “the greatest thing on the face of the earth,” but what it represents: belonging, identity, and the sweetness of one’s roots.

For this is the paradox of human life: we journey outward in search of greatness, yet we are forever tethered to where we began. Church’s North Carolina is not merely a place—it is a spirit that shaped his songs, his grit, his soul. By keeping that familiar drink “in his bus fridge and home fridge,” he honors his origins even while roaming the wide world. The ancients would call this an act of remembrance, a daily offering to the gods of memory, to keep one’s heart grounded amid the storm of success. For the man who forgets where he came from may gain the world and lose himself in the process.

There is a story from history that mirrors this truth. The Roman general Cincinnatus, called from his plow to lead an army, conquered Rome’s enemies and then returned humbly to his fields. Though he held power, he never forgot the soil beneath his hands. So too does Eric Church, in the midst of fame and flashing lights, keep a piece of his own earth with him—a bottle of Sun Drop, cold and glowing, a token of the land that raised him. Such a gesture, though small, contains the essence of humility. It whispers to the soul: remember who you are; remember what shaped you.

The deeper wisdom of this quote lies in its simplicity. It reminds us that joy need not be grand to be profound. The world tells us to seek meaning in wealth or conquest, yet meaning often hides in the ordinary—a shared meal, a familiar tune, the taste of something we loved in youth. In these things, the spirit finds rest. The diet Sun Drop, then, becomes a symbol not of indulgence but of gratitude—a daily reminder that even amidst the chaos of success, one must keep a place in the heart for what once made life bright.

The lesson here is clear: treasure the small things that tie you to your beginnings. Do not despise simplicity, for it anchors the soul. In every man’s life, there should be a “Sun Drop”—something humble and familiar that keeps him from drifting into forgetfulness. It may be a song, a scent, a tradition, or a flavor—but whatever it is, guard it well, for it carries your story within it. Let these simple joys be your compass, pointing you home when the world grows loud.

And so, in the quiet wisdom of Eric Church’s words, we find not just a musician’s fondness, but a universal truth: the heart, no matter how far it roams, longs always to return to what is real. The Sun Drop in his fridge is more than a drink—it is a relic of identity, a reminder that greatness and gratitude must walk hand in hand. For the man who can still savor the sweetness of his roots, even amidst fame’s fire, is the one who truly knows the taste of life.