Kenny Chesney is so grateful for his mother, Karen. The 56-year-old is speaking out about the woman who gave birth to him when she was just 19, and worked as a hairdresser to support her family.

“I think one of the most important lessons that I’ve learned from my mom, no matter what life throws at you, is just to take a step back and a deep breath and just still take life as it comes. She’s been through a lot in her life. And she’s handled it. And she’s come through it, I believe, with a lot of grace, and a lot of style. And I’ve learned a lot from that.

“She has taught me a lot directly and indirectly,” he adds. “And she’s a hard worker, but she loves life. And I thank God that I got my love of life from her.”

Chesney’s mom married, and later divorced, his father, and then married and divorced someone else. Far from being failures, Chesney says he learned plenty from her about how to handle a relationship that doesn’t work out.

“She was dating someone once and broke up,” Chesney previously told Parade. “And this stayed with me. She said, ‘Kenny, I just want you to know I’d rather be miserable alone than miserable with somebody else.’ That makes a lot of sense to me.”

 

Last Mother’s Day, Chesney praised his mother with a touching post on social media, referencing her young age when she gave birth to him.

“Happy Mother’s Day to my beautiful mother,” Chesney posted. “You gave me the gift of connection, the love of family, the love of music and the love of life. You were a child having a child and we grew up together. I am so proud of you and love you!!!”

Chesney has never been one to shy away from wearing his heart on his sleeve, in his life or in his music. The country music hitmaker just released his latest album, BORN, one that he hopes lets fans know him a bit more, even after more than 30 years in country music.

 

“I think the best thing someone could say about this album BORN is that it reflects me, is that it’s genuine,” Chesney says. “It’s not made-up, and there’s just a lot of me on it. It’s a fun record to listen to. It’s an emotional record to listen to. It’s a mirror to my life, and I think that’s what I would say when somebody asked me what do you want people to hear from this? What do you hope they take away from it? And that would be it.”

Included on BORN is “Wherever You Are Tonight,” a song written by Mike Reid and Gary Burr, and one Chesney admits was hard to finish in the studio.

“I’ve had a lot of friends pass,” Chesney tells USA Today. “Some famous, some not. Some heroes, some not. This was a hard one. My friend Mike Reid wrote this song and I was struggling. I knew I wanted to record it, but it’s a topic that makes people uncomfortable.”

Chesney is currently on his Sun Goes Down Tour. Find all of his music and upcoming shows at KennyChesney.com.