Chris Young is only a few weeks away from releasing I Didn’t Come Here To Leave, out on October 17. The 14-track record includes a song called “Just Keep Living,” written about his father. According to Young, not only is “Just Keep Living” the most challenging song for him vocally, but also the most personal.
“It’s a song I wrote about my dad …The song is heavy,” Young shares on TalkShopLive. “It’s talking about my dad beating cancer, which he did several years ago. It’s just a very autobiographical song about him. I had to call him and ask him.”
Fortunately, Young’s father gave his approval as soon as he heard “Just Keep Living.”
“I was like, ‘Old man, is it okay if I put this song on the record?'” Young recalls. “I sent it to him and he heard it, and he said, ‘Absolutely.’
“But there’s a really big, high note in the actual, right before the breakdown, before the solo… It’s very, very high,” he remarks. “And I had to wear tight pants for that note,” he adds with a laugh.
Young has released plenty of emotional songs before, but none quite like “Just Keep Living.”
“But also, that song is so personal to me, that it took a couple of takes for me to get it right,” says the singer. “I really wanted it to be perfect. I actually sang more takes on this record than I normally do. Normally, it’s like three or four passes, and then we comp the passes together, and it’s done, unless it’s like a word here or a word there.”
“It was just a very personal song to me, and so that was probably the hardest one to sing,” Young adds. “Not only for range, but just for gravity of a life moment.”
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Chris Young Talks About ‘I Didn’t Come Here To Leave’
Young is more eager to release I Didn’t Come Here To Leave, his tenth studio album, than anything he has released in the past.
“I hope you’re as excited about this album as I am. … It’s been absolutely insane making this come to life, for not only me, but for you guys, ” Young shares. “Yes, I’m excited every time I get to make a record. But it’s your fault. You guys are the reason I get to make a record. So I love you for that, and I’m excited to be with Black River Entertainment.
“It’s really weird, because I had been in the same place for years and years and years,” he continues. “I was always on RCA, from the very genesis of my career, so to speak. I can tell you with my whole heart, making this record with them has been incredible, because they’ve just let me do whatever I wanted to do. I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Young just released “Brake Lights” from the record. “‘Til The Last One Dies,” his first single from the project, is currently in the Top 35. Find the song, and pre-order I Didn’t Come Here To Leave at ChrisYoungCountry.com.