Chris Young is paying homage to his father, Michael Harris, in a song on his new I Didn’t Come Here To Leave album. The record includes a track called “Just Keep Living,” which Young wrote with Chris DeStefano, Jason Duke and Josh Hoge. Young wrote “Just Keep Living” about his father, and his will to survive against insurmountable odds.
“It’s basically really about what my dad has gone through in his life,” Young shares on the In The Blind podcast. “He’s had two heart attacks, the same heart attack both times. I’m like, ‘Can you pick something else? Like, stub your toe on the coffee table. Don’t do that.’ He had two widowmaker heart attacks that he survived. He got lung cancer and beat that. They cut a third of one of his lungs out. He just went, ‘All right.'”
Not only did Young’s father survive, but he also managed to keep his full head of hair, something his medical team said was impossible.
“They had him on two different types of chemo over at [Vanderbilt Hospital], and they’re like, ‘You will lose your hair,. There’s no way you don’t lose your hair,” Young recounts. “He had a mustache and a full head of hair the entire time he was going through chemo.”
Chris Young’s Private Conversation With His Father
Young shares a private conversation he had with his father amid his cancer battle, one that assured Young that his dad would be okay.
“That was one of the few times I saw him cry, ’cause he told my mom and my sister and me that he had cancer,” the 40-year-old recounts. “He was like, ‘I don’t want you all to be upset.’ Of course, they cried. They leave the room. It’s just me and my dad sitting there. I see him start tearing up. He goes, ‘Son, they roll me back. Say your prayers to whatever god you believe in. I prayed for you all to be okay, and I felt a weight just lifted off of me. I knew you all were going to be okay, even if something happened to me. Ever since then, I’m not afraid. Whatever happens, I know I’m going to be taken care of.'”
Chris Young’s Relationship With His Father
The man Young calls his father is actually his stepfather. Young was still a child when his mother married Harris, but to Young, he will always just be dad.
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“He’s technically my stepdad, although it’s hilarious because everybody thinks that we look alike and we sort of do; I’m just much taller than him,” Young previously said. “So everybody sees us, and they’re like, ‘Oh, I see it. That’s your dad.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ And he just nods. We laugh about it later, but just that relationship he has with my mom … when they got married, he asked me and my sister for permission first. So he’s a good man.”
In 2021, Young surprised his dad with a brand-new truck for Christmas.
Young recently announced his It Must Be Christmas Tour, kicking off on November 20 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I Didn’t Come Here To Leave will be out on October 17. Find all of Young’s music and upcoming shows at ChrisYoungCountry.com.