From “therapy” to a “career song” in the making: Chris Janson shares the story behind “Bye Mom”

Of all the songs he’s ever released, Chris Janson says he’s gotten the biggest and most personal fan reaction with his new single, “Bye Mom.”

“[It’s] touching lives all over the globe,” Chris says. “You can’t even imagine the floods of messages that we get about this song, unlike any other song I’ve ever had.”

With its powerful story line of the unconditional love between a mother and a child — and that child’s grief at eventually having to say goodbye — “Bye Mom” touches on a universal heartache.

But when Chris first started writing the song, he wasn’t thinking about its large-scale impact. Instead, the song began as a healing process for one of Chris’ co-writers, Brandon Kinney.

“His mother passed away this past year, unfortunately. We wrote the song kind of as a therapy for him,” the singer explains. “I thought, ‘Hey, you know what, if it only ever lives right here, that’s fine.’”

But the song’s impact quickly began to spread. Chris’ record label heard it and immediately insisted that it be the first single off his new album, All In. Then, when he sent it to country radio, stations quickly started picking it up.

Even after all that, Chris says that the biggest gratification he’s gotten for “Bye Mom” has been from his fans.

“I think it’s going to be a career song for me and it’s already kind of a staple tune,” he notes. “People are already requesting it, and it’s only a few months old. So that’s how you know you’ve got something special.”

All In will arrive this spring.