Chris Young is following up his Top 5 hit “Raised on Country” with the release of a touching new single, “Drowning,” on Sept. 23.

Co-penned by Chris, Corey Crowder and Josh Hoge, “Drowning” was partly inspired by the death of Chris’ close friend, Adam Carnes, and features lyrics: “So tonight I’m gonna pull out pictures, ones with you in ’em / Laugh and cry a little while reminiscing / By myself, I can’t help that all I think about is / How you were taken way too soon / It ain’t the same here without you / I gotta say, missing you comes in waves / And tonight I’m drowning”

“I actually wrote this song with two of my really good friends, Corey Crowder and Josh Hoge,” says Chris. “All of us were writing to that hook, which Corey actually brought in that day, and we just all thought that it was an amazing idea and it was something that was gonna touch pretty much anybody that has ever lost anyone. I actually wrote it about a friend of mine, Adam, who passed away many years ago. It’s just a really, really special song to me and I hope it really touches a lot of people.”

Chris teamed with Jeff Johnson to co-direct a new video for the tune, which opens with Chris holding a photo of Adam. Later in the clip, fans display their moving tributes to loved ones as footage is interspersed of Chris’ recent performance of the song in Las Vegas, which was dedicated to the victims and survivors of the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

“I’ve been so amazed at the reaction to this song,” says Chris. “I wrote it with two friends as a moment of healing and had no idea it would touch so many people before it was even chosen as a single. The video, combining so many personal moments alongside a live performance, totally embodies that and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”