Chris Young just released a new single, “If That Ain’t God,” from his upcoming Raised on Country album. The song, which begins with the lines, “I ain’t never thought much of getting up / Or the climb down the stairs to my coffee cup / Or the good morning news in the background / ‘Til I heard somebody on it talking ’bout / A kid from my town only 8 or 9 / Who took a punch from cancer but he won that fight,” resonated with Chris right away, for more than one reason.

“First of all, the first verse is something I’ve done a thousand times, because my house that I live in, my bedroom is upstairs,” Chris told Country Now. “I walk down the stairs and make coffee every morning. So just listening to those first lines of the song, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m in.’”

“If That Ain’t God” also struck Chris because his own father dealt with cancer, thankfully surviving with a clean bill of health.

“I texted my dad. I was like, ‘Hey, glad I have you,’” Chris said after first hearing the song. “Well, that’s not quite what I texted him. I texted him something mean, to mess with him, because that’s kind of what we do. And then I [sent] him a serious [text], like, ‘Hey, I love you.’

“I mean, that was years ago,” he added. “But you can never take [a moment like that] for granted, because otherwise, my dad wouldn’t be here.”

Chris knew right away he wanted to record “If That Ain’t God,” but he credits his fans with convincing him to make it a single.

“When I teased ‘If That Ain’t God’ for the first time, it really got a reaction. Not just [the number of] views and people commenting, but what the comments were,” Chris said. “It was very, very overwhelmingly positive and people wanting to hear more of the song.”

Chris had hoped to release Raised on Country by now, but with everyone at home because of COVID-19, he admits he doesn’t know when it will actually be released — or how many songs will be on it.

“I’m adding more stuff — whether I was supposed to or not,” Chris said. “But it’s been a fun process for me. Everything is kind of crazy and upended right now, and everybody is trying to navigate through.”

The Tennessee native is ready to release his next record, but he’s also ready to hit the road again, especially after so much time at home, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“My band, my crew — I’m really close with all of them,” Chris said, adding that he didn’t realize how much he missed them until they made him a video for his birthday last month. “They all got together and made little videos at home, and then my videographer Jeff Johnson cut them all together. It’s a ten-minute-long birthday video.

“I miss them,” he continued.” I miss little dumb stuff that we do. And to segue back to the song, it’s little things like that that you just can’t take for granted, those relationships and crazy little things that happen in life. I’ve been incredibly lucky to be around those people, and just being around them, I miss that.”