When Chris Young performed during the “Opry 100 Honors Charlie Daniels” on Tuesday night, he walked onto the stage with his heart in the past and his eyes on the future.
Young’s relationship with Daniels dates back decades. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native used his three-song set to cover Daniels’ “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye,” Young’s first hit “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song),” and to debut the title track from his upcoming 10th album, I Didn’t Come Here to Leave.
At the end of “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye,” Young folded his hands and looked up.
“Some of you all might be wondering why I started with a Charlie Daniels song instead of ending with one,” Young told fans. “Evidently, that was the song he started his show with all the time, so that one was for Charlie.”
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Then Young threw a kiss toward even and then leaned down and put his hand on the Opry’s hallowed circle. He exhaled heavily and then commented there was no way he “could follow that.”Evidently
Young’s relationship with “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye” dates back decades to when he sang it during his star-making run on USA’s talent search, Nashville Star. Young won the competition in 2006 and went on to chart 14 No. 1 songs and build a relationship with Daniels. He played Daniels’ all-star jam many times, won the Charlie Daniels Patriot Award, and then stepped into a more visible role in Daniels’ veterans’ non-profit, The Journey Home Foundation.
“It was my honor to be part of the event honoring a legend like Charlie,” Young said of his fellow Opry member Wednesday afternoon. “He did so much for music and so much for our military. I’m grateful to be a small part of the night at The Opry in his name.”
Leading into debuting, “I Didn’t Come Here to Leave,” he quipped that his new album – available October 17 – was the least important happening at the Opry Tuesday night.
“I figured I’d give you guys something that I’ve never played before,” Young said while making the sign of the cross. “For anyone just listening, I just said a little prayer.”
Chris Young: “I Just Said a Little Prayer”
Young wrote the song with Dallas Davidson and Kyle Fishman. The up-tempo’s lyrics include: I didn’t come here to leave/ I want the whole bottle/ I didn’t come in for one I came in full throttle/ Between the bartenders and friends I ain’t seen/ No way I’m leavin’ at two/ I didn’t come here to leave/ Takin’ tequila shots/ And singin’ all night long/ I’m takin’ over the playlist/ I’m playin’ sad songs/ One of those nights I need to set myself free/ Damn right, I came here to stay/ I didn’t come here to leave.
The multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter co-wrote 11 of the 14 songs on I Didn’t Come Here to Leave. The album is Young’s first with his new record label, Black River Entertainment. The title track arrived on the heels of the album’s lead single, “Til The Last One Dies,” which earned a whopping 104 cumulative adds in its first week at country radio.
“It has been a while since I put out a straight-down-the-middle love song that’s a ballad,” Young told Audacy. “I thought the message was so perfect. I went to every single one of my friends who were married or in a relationship, and they were all blown away.”
Chris Young’s Friends Were “Blown Away”
Young said it’s one of the few on the album he didn’t write. When he got in the studio, “Til the Last One Dies” just “came to life.”
He hopes the song becomes a fan favorite.
“I hope this gets a slot in their Top 10,” he said. “That’s always what I’m chasing as an artist.”
(Chris Young courtesy of Black River Entertainment)
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