Chris Young’s ‘Drowning’ Is a Tribute to a Friend Gone Too Soon [LISTEN]
Chris Young captures the sometimes-overwhelming grief that comes with the loss of a loved one in his new single "Drowning." After teasing the song on social media in March and officially releasing the tear-jerking track in mid-June, Young will send the song to country radio on Sept. 23.
Young wrote "Drowning" with frequent collaborators Corey Crowder and Josh Hoge. In a press release, Young explains that they were each thinking of "someone that we lost way too soon;" for him, that was a best friend named Adam, who died a few years ago.
"So tonight I’m gonna pull out pictures, ones with you in 'em / Laugh and cry a little while reminiscing / By myself, I can’t help that all I think about is / How you were taken way too soon / It ain’t the same here without you," Young sings in the song's chorus. "I gotta say, missing you comes in waves / And tonight I’m drowning ..."
Young gave a stirring performance of "Drowning" at the Grand Ole Opry in early June. Near the end of the song, he was overcome with emotion and, despite the crowd's encouragement, couldn't finish the song. His band played it out to applause from the audience, and Young says on Twitter that fans have, since then, reached out with stories of their own deeply felt losses.
"Drowning" will appear on Young's next album, Raised on Country. The album's title track was its first single, and Young has teased collaborations with Lauren Alaina, Kane Brown and Brad Paisley and Riley Green, but full details of the project have yet to be announced. The country star is currently on the road for his Raised on Country Tour, which also features Chris Janson, Dylan Scott, LoCash and Jimmie Allen.
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