Dierks Bentley’s ‘Home’ Honored in Arizona

Posted on by az100
By: Alanna Conaway  |  October 21, 2011
Dierks BentleyEthan Miller, Getty Images

Dierks Bentley‘s new single, ‘Home,’ has quickly become a proud anthem in the life and career of the singer-songwriter. The new tune has touched many of Bentley’s fans and has now been hand-picked by the Arizona Centennial Commission to serve as its official song for the state’s 100 year celebration.

Bentley, an Arizona native, will return to his home state in February to participate in the event as their Honorary Chairman of the Arizona Centennial Motorcycle Ride.

Bentley penned ‘Home ‘along with Dan Wilson and Brett Beavers, not knowing what they were stumbling onto at the time. “A lot of times when you’re writing songs or you have an idea that you’ve been working on or it hits you somewhere, and sometimes you mumble your way into a hook,” Bentley recently explained on NPR. “You’re just kind of mumbling along to the melody and all of a sudden, ‘the place we all come home’ just kind of sprang up.”

Bentley says that writing a patriotic-themed song is something that has always been on his mind, but he had to wait until the timing was right because they are “difficult songs to write.”

“We had that line ‘the place we all call home,’ and we were like, ‘Wow … we’re definitely going to bite off a big one here,’” Bentley said. “This will be a tough song to finish the right way, that isn’t polarizing, that isn’t chest beating … it’s relatable to everybody. [We] were trying to write a song that reaches out to everybody. Once we got into it, we wanted it to be inspiring and hopeful, but also address the realities of what’s going on. I think the first thing I thought of when we started writing it was the shooting that had happened in Tuscon, Arizona. That had happened about four days earlier. That being my homestate, I had so many feelings of anger and questions of why. It all kind of came together in this song.”

“I was just trying to write a song that’s just honest,” he continues. “That’s where you find real relief, real inspiration, real hope, real hope, real understanding of what’s going on. I think in the end it makes it honest. Country music has always been about honesty. That’s what makes it great.”

‘Home’ is the lead single from Bentley’s forthcoming sixth studio album on Capitol Nashville. The album is slated for release in early 2012. Bentley is currently on the road in the midst of his headlining trek, the Country and Cold Cans Tour, which also features Jerrod Niemann and the Eli Young Band. Click here to see a complete list of dates where the tour will be stopping.

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