“All the Truths We Can't Outrun”: Kenny Chesney Reflects on Why He Chose ‘BORN’ as the Title-Track for His Latest Album

It might have dropped back in 2024, but we're still not over Kenny Chesney's latest studio album, BORN, with the project embodying the joie-de-vivre and lust for life the No Shoes Nation figurehead has become synonymous with during his storied career.

The cornerstone of the record is undoubtedly the title-track, which also serves as the opening song. Penned by Greylan James and Heather Morgan, ‘Born’ is a galvanising, high-octane ode to the existential questions we all contend with, with an uplifting, beers-in-the-air hook that encourages us all to live each day like it's our last.

During his conversation with Holler around BORN, Kenny Chesney delved into the creative process behind the record, shedding light on how it all felt very organic and natural. The ‘I Go Back’ hitmaker admits that the beauty of the BORN sessions was the fact that the songs weren't recorded with a view to crafting a larger album, rather, he was simply leaning into which textures felt right in the moment.

“‘Born’ really sets up everything, doesn't it?” the Knoxville native mused, “All the questions we ask ourselves. All the basic things that we should pay attention to. All the truths we can't outrun. When I heard it, I knew it had to open the record”.

He went on to touch on why he has made it a tradition to end his records on a more wistful, contemplative note, as is the case with ‘Wherever You Are Tonight’ from BORN, “I think I've made a habit of closing my albums with something a little more philosophical, or even sad. What better way, though, to end an album called BORN than with a song about loving and toasting someone who's died, but feels like they're still right there? Because I think if you live your life right, people won't think of you as gone to the next realm, just gone for the moment”.

‘Wherever You Are Tonight’ epitomises the magic of Kenny Chesney's artistry. It finds Chesney mourning the loss of a close friend, continuing his evocative, visceral streak of grief-stricken offerings, including ‘Happy on the Hey Now (A Song for Kristi)’, ‘Guys Named Captain’, ‘Jesus and Elvis’, ‘Sing ‘Em Good My Friend’ and many more.

Kenny Chesney captures the unique, searing anguish of losing someone you love, but rather than losing himself to these depths of despair, he uses these dark emotional hues to strengthen the blazing impulse to make the most of the brief time we have on this planet. The momentary heaviness of these songs accentuates the levity of their joyful counterparts, the latter of which often get more credit.

He outlined how the bookends of ‘Born’ and ‘Wherever You Are Tonight’ created the perfect framework for he and his team to put together a vibrant, eclectic narrative, “Between those two realities, there was a lot of life, truth and fun we could put together. In some ways, this album doesn't have an obvious storyline. But I think as I've said in some other places, this album represents every piece of me, my heart and my soul, as well as my music. It's all here, every kind of thing I do”.

He expanded on the freedom he felt when creating this album, partly because there was no restrictive timeline or overarching thematic framework, “The way BORN came together, I think it was less worrying about checking boxes or worrying about ‘What do we have?’, and more about the spirit of going into the studio and being creative. This has been recorded over the last four years. It's been four years since we've released music, you know, not four years since I'd been in a studio”.

Chesney concluded on the refreshingly pure, unfiltered intentions behind the construction of every track on BORN, “One thing I do think: because we had all the time during COVID, the process wasn't so focused on "We're making a record." Instead, I could go in and cut songs just because I loved them -- and not think about how they'd fit on the record. To record stuff for the sake of loving the song, or thinking the arrangement would be cool is a pretty great freedom to have. It's rare, even when you're starting out; so I decided to really lean into that notion”.

In a heartwarming social media post shared one week after the arrival of BORN, Kenny Chesney again underlined what guided the formation of this album, “We never set out to make a record. We were just exploring songs and moments for the sake of making music. All of a sudden, time had passed and somehow we had all these songs that captured what can sometimes be so hard to explain in real life”.

The country legend then paid homage to his fans, “These songs have shown me that no matter who you are or what you’re chasing, we're all just trying to leave a good stamp down here. Thank you for loving this music and making it a part of your lives”.

Following his blockbuster Sphere Las Vegas residency - which saw Kenny Chesney become the first country artist to headline the immersive venue - and confirmation that he has his first ever book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, is coming out in November, we suspect the Beach Country titan has not had much time to hit the studio in 2025.

Even so, you can't help but feel there's always a song idea or two dancing on the end of Chesney's fingertips as he strums his beloved guitar, and after the beauty of BORN, we can't wait to see what the ‘Take Her Home’ crooner has up his (cut-off) sleeve...

Read Kenny Chesney's full interview with Holler here.

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