What If Jesus Comes Back Like That
{{Infobox song
| name = What If Jesus Comes Back Like That
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Collin Raye
| album = I Think About You
| B-side = The Time Machine
| released = {{Start date|1996|11}}
| recorded = 1995
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Christian country
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=07}}
| label = Epic
| writer = Pat Bunch, Doug Johnson
| producer = Paul Worley, Ed Seay, John Hobbs
| prev_title = Love Remains
| prev_year = 1996
| next_title = On the Verge
| next_year = 1997
}}
"What If Jesus Comes Back Like That" is a song written by Pat Bunch and Doug Johnson, and recorded by American country music singer Collin Raye. It was released in November 1996 the fifth single from his album I Think About You.
Content
The song is in E mixolydian (an E major scale with the seventh tone lowered by a half-step). Its main chord pattern is E-D/E-A/E.{{cite web|url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0027301&|title='What If Jesus Comes Back Like That' music|work=MusicNotes.com|date=13 March 2001 |accessdate=1 December 2012}} In the song, the narrator questions how people would react to Jesus returning in the modern day as a hobo or a child born of a drug-addicted parent.{{cite book|last1=Mansfield|first1=Brian|last2=Graff|first2=Gary|title=MusicHound Country|url=https://archive.org/details/musichoundcountr0000mans|url-access=registration|quote=what if jesus comes back like that Collin raye.|year=1997|publisher=Visible Ink}}{{cite book|last1=Ronance|first1=Mark|last2=Gray|first2=Patrick|title=Teaching the Bible Through Popular Culture and the Arts|publisher=Society of Biblical Lit|page=38}}
Critical reception
Deborah Evans Price of Billboard gave it a positive review, saying that it "may be his most risky venture yet... a great song, that deserves to be rewarded."{{cite journal|last=Price|first=Deborah Evans|date=November 9, 1996|title=Single reviews|page=68|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22what+if+jesus+comes+back+like+that%22+%22Collin+raye%22&pg=PA68}}
Chart performance
The song entered the Hot Country Singles chart dated November 25, 1995, peaking at No. 57 on the December 16, 1995, chart. It spent 11 weeks on the chart in this timespan, receiving unsolicited airplay alongside Raye's then-current single "Not That Different". Upon its official release as a single, it re-entered in November 1996, reaching a new peak of No. 21 on the January 4, 1997, chart. Overall, it spent 22 weeks on the charts between its two runs.{{cite magazine|last=Jessen|first=Wade|date=January 11, 1997|title=Country Corner|magazine=Billboard|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQ4EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22what+if+jesus+comes+back+like+that%22+%22Collin+raye%22&pg=PT27}}{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|date=2008|page=341|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1995) !Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|57|artist=Collin Raye}} |
| Chart (1996–1997)
!Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|21|artist=Collin Rsye}} |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks
|align="center"|22 |