Chris Young wrote 11 of the 14 songs on his forthcoming I Didn’t Come Here To Leave album. The debut single from the record, “‘Til the Last One Dies,” is one of three that he didn’t write, with that song written by Ben Hayslip, Seth Mosley, and Jordan Walker instead.

For Young, it was an easy decision to make “‘Til the Last One Dies” the first single from the record, instead of choosing one he wrote.

“I’m never afraid of outside cuts,” Young says during a recent media event. He goes on to share the profound loss that artists in the country music community feel over Brett James, who was recently killed in a plane crash.

“I cut one of his songs that he wrote with Tim Nichols, ‘Man I Wanna Be,’ and that was my second No. 1,” Young explains. “And I didn’t write that song. I just fell in love with that song, and that’s why I fell in love with this one. It’s why I cut it. … Just something about that song spoke to me. I wish I had written that idea. I wish had gotten that idea, and I’m just like, ‘Dang it. All right, fine, can I have it?'”

Young is a songwriter, but he is also a lover of songs, which is why he chooses to always record the best songs, even if he didn’t write them.

“I think that’s a big part of why I end up cutting songs like that, like ‘Lonely Eyes,’ like ‘Man I Wanna Be,’ like ‘Who I Am With You,'” Young explains. “It’s actually surprisingly been a while, and this got pointed out to me, since I have recorded a love song that’s like a no-questions-asked, this is definitely a love song. You can play this at your wedding. So I think that’s a big reason why. And I just think it’s a beautiful melody and a beautiful job of writing that.”

The Story Behind “‘Til the Last One Dies”

Young was in the beginning stages of working on what became I Didn’t Come Here To Leave when he heard “‘Til the Last One Dies,” immediately claiming it for his own record.

“I just thought the message on this one was so perfect,” Young tells Audacy. “I went to every single one of my friends, male, female, whatever, that were married or in a relationship, and they were all just blown away by this song, so I was like, ‘Okay, we gotta go with this one first. It’s just too perfect.’”

It was a friend of Young who played “‘Til the Last One Dies” for him, with Young instantly realizing the power of the song.

“This is one of the few that’s on the record that I was not a co-writer on, but got a chance to sing it and produce it with my buddy, Andy [Sheridan],” Young tells iHeart. “I think if I was going to say why I was drawn to this song, not only is it a very new way to say ‘I love you’ to somebody in song form,. My favorite line is the line leading up to the hook, saying that he bought  ‘A dozen roses …11 real ones, one fake one, and I’ll love you ’til the last one dies.’”

I Didn’t Come Here To Leave is out on Friday, October 17.