Following back-to-back No. 1 hits, “Women, Amen” and “Burning Man,” from his 2018 album, The Mountain, Dierks Bentley shipped a new single, “Living,” to country radio on Feb. 19.
The anthemic new track beckons listens to find beauty in everyday moments, as well as to seek adventure. The chorus juxtaposes the difference between being alive and actually living life to the fullest, with lyrics like: “Some days you just breath in / Just try to break even / Sometimes your heart’s poundin’ out of your chest / Sometimes it’s just beatin’ / Some days you just forget / What all you’ve been given.”
While Dierks says his goal in 2019 is to get outdoors more and seek adventure, he noted that he’s also trying to be fully present—and put his smart phone away—in everyday moments, like his son’s jiu-jitsu practice or his daughters’ theater performances.
In a sit-down interview on The Blair Garner Show on Feb. 20, Dierks had been discussing his new single with the titular host when he detailed one of his “heart’s pounding’ out of your chest” moments—first solo flight more than 20 years ago.
“I had 7.7 hours of flying time with an instructor,” says Dierks. “It was a little airfield in Nashville that’s no longer there called Cornelia Fort, and I was in a little Cessna. The instructor was like, ‘You’re good to go.’ I remember taking off and seeing a Southwest plane flying over my head, because it was right over by Nashville’s international airport. There was no GPS, it was all about visual flying, so I’m trying to find certain landmarks that tell me where the airport is. Once you take off and start flying around, it’s easy to get lost. So I was following the Cumberland River past the Dow Chemical factory and the airport was off to the right. I was able to find the airport and put [the plane] back down again. It was an amazing feeling. I wasn’t really scared, but I was nervous about these big planes flying overhead and making sure I knew where to put the plane back down again. That was back when I was 19 years old, so I’ve been flying for a fair amount of time now. It never ceases to amaze me how amazing aviation is and what a game-changer it is for me with kids and a family. It would be very difficult to continue without it.”
Listen to Dierks’ new single, “Living.”
