Russell Dickerson hadn’t felt as strongly about a song since his 2017 chart-topping breakthrough hit, “Yours.”
Dickerson felt so strongly about “Yours” that he bet his entire career on it. Because the singer is now a well-established country hitmaker, the stakes aren’t as high with his new single “Bones.” But if they were, he’d do it all over again.
“When we wrote this song, I was like, ‘I know it’s special,’” Dickerson told American Songwriter. “And then (wife) Kailey was driving around. She was like, ‘I can’t stop listening to this song.’”
Because Kailey hears everything—even when it’s terrible—Dickerson depends on her instincts. When she confirmed his thoughts, Dickerson knew “Bones” was his next step.
“Bones” is out now, and Dickerson’s EP Bones The EP will be available on August 30.
Dickerson wrote the song in November with Chase McGill, Chris LaCorte, and Parker Welling. He called the writers his “go-tos” and “GOATS.”
Lyrics include: I’ll love ya ’til I’m six feet down in the ground| And the gold on my finger’s wrapped around| Nothin’ but bones
The lyric is one of Dickerson’s favorites in the song. He admitted he didn’t write it, giving the credit to McGill or Welling.
Videos by American Songwriter
Russell Dickerson: “God, I Can’t Believe This Is My Song”
“They’re so good,” he said of his songwriting buddies. “Every time I hear the song, it just makes me smile at how well-written it is. “I’m like, ‘God, I can’t believe this is my song.’”
The writers wrote “Bones” the week after Thanksgiving in 2023, a time when the music industry is typically winding down for the year. Dickerson said he “can’t sit still” so he reached out to his friends to write. He had the concept for “Bones.” Thankfully, they were available. It was the last song Dickerson wrote in 2023.
“I remember that day,” he said. “It was a like a full year of the tour, full all-out everything, having a baby, all this stuff. Getting that song in right at the buzzer of the year just helped me relax. It was like, ‘All right. We got some in the chamber, fam. We’re going to be all right.’”
Dickerson describes “Bones” as “something different for me.” He thinks the song has a cool vibe and said his friends helped him craft it into a “Russell Dickerson song.”
“They know me,” he said. “They know my artistry. It’s like, ‘You’re a halo and a heart of gold and baby; I’m just flesh and bones. It’s tying that into all the different ways you use the word bones.”
While “Bones” is the cornerstone of the EP, another of his favorites is an interpolation of hard rock band Finch’s “Letters to You.” Dickerson calls his take “Miss You.” “Miss You” includes a portion of the chorus from “Letters to You.”
Russell Dickerson’s Ode to Finch
Dickerson said the song is about cleaning out a truck he’s selling and finding an old burnt CD from a girlfriend. He listens to it for old times’ sake, and the first song transports him back to that relationship.
“Just to flip one of these old choruses that we used to listen to back in the day,” Dickerson said. “Ours is a partial. The chorus is very simple. Then we added our own chorus that we wrote on top in the middle of that. It’s just this little nod to, ‘Oh man, yeah, I forgot about that song.’ I was like, ‘How can I incorporate that into one of my songs?’”
Dickerson teamed with Seth Ennis and Joe Fox to write “Miss You.” Still, he also credited the writers who penned “Letters To You”: Alejandro Linares, Alexander James Pappas, Derek Thomas Doherty, Nathan Scot Barcalow, and William Strohmeyer Jr.
The singer played “Miss You” for his band and crew and learned that one of his fill-in guitar techs plays guitar in Finch. When the tech heard it, he asked to send it to the other guys in the rock band.
“He was like, ‘They’re going to freak out,’” Dickerson said. “I sent him the song, and they were like, ‘Holy crap, this is insane. Is he going to put it out?’ It’s just cool to have a band that I have loved for so long know who I am now.”
Russell Dickerson, Bones The EP tracklist:
“What A Life” – Russell Dickerson, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps
“Bones” – Russell Dickerson, Chase McGill, Chris LaCorte, Parker Welling
“Miss You So (Letters To You)” – Russell Dickerson, Seth Ennis, Joe Fox, Alejandro Linares, Alexander James Pappas, Derek Thomas Doherty, Nathan Scot Barcalow, William Strohmeyer Jr
“Those Nights These Days” – Russell Dickerson, Seth Ennis, Jordan Reynolds
“Cold Beer Conversation (Acoustic)” – Russell Dickerson, Casey Brown, Ryan Hurd, Brad Tursi
(Photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
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