Kenny Chesney Releases ‘Songs For the Saints’ Title Track

Kenny Chesney is sharing the title track of his upcoming Songs For the Saints album, two months before the record’s release date. The project was inspired by, and written during the time Chesney was helping evacuate those in the Caribbean islands, following the devastating hurricanes, Irma and Maria.

“There’s so much to say, and so much music on this record,” Chesney says in a statement. “Knowing where to start was hard and easy, because this is the song that really holds everything together. It’s a tribute to those islands and their unstoppable spirit. Even as people were coming off the islands – some just to not tax the limited resources – so many of my friends were digging in, trying to figure out what needed to be done and getting on to the work of clearing debris, creating habitable space for those staying and reminding all of us how Island Strong they all are.”

With a lyric that says, “This brokenness will heal, this weakness will be strong / Let’s lift our voice together, as the saints go marching on / We say we can when they say we can’t / See what it is when they see what it ain’t / With blood sweat and tears and a new coat of paint / We’re just a sinners’ choir singing a song for the saints,” the song reminds Chesney of why he fell in love with the island he calls home – and why he wants to do all he can to help those still recovering.

“When I arrived on St. John, on a day off after taking a ferry all by myself, I walked down a street in a very special place and heard George Jones floating out a door of a bar,” he recalls. “I walked in, sat on a barstool and found people from all over the country who had hearts like mine: dreamers who were free spirits, living a way that made sense to them.

“I left that day, went back out on tour, but kept going back, because it was a place I not only fit, but felt like I could disappear,” he continues. “I was a young adult, and I made some of the best friends of my life on those islands – and this is my way of giving back.”

Songs for the Saints will be released on July 27. Chesney is currently headlining his Trip Around the Sun Tour, with Old Dominion and Thomas Rhett serving as his opening acts. Find dates and venue information at KennyChesney.com.

Photo Credit: EB Media PR/Allister Ann