Dierks Bentley is previewing his forthcoming tenth studio album with a hit-ready and feel-good new single, “Gold."

For this song, Bentley teamed up with hit songwriters and frequent collaborators Ashley Gorley, Luke Dick and Ross Copperman to create a life anthem that perfectly melds heart-on-sleeve lyrical candor with an infectiously jaunty melody.

In the verses, the singer laments about the long, speed bumps-filled road he’s been trekking to a taste of heaven. At times, he feels like giving up on what seems to be an endless and almost futile pursuit of happiness.

“It ain't easy / Nobody said it would be / You finally find that greener grass / But you're still in the weeds / Ain't it crazy / All the time that you spend / Drivin' through the rainbow for the pot at the end,” Bentley confesses in the opening verse, before realizing the blessings of what he already has.

“I got some rust on my Chevy but it's ready to roll / I got a rhinestone sky and a song in my soul / It ain't a smooth ride, life, it's a winding road / Yeah, it might be gravel, but it feels like gold,” he proclaims with unflinching grit in the uplifting singalong chorus.

Reflecting on his life since 2020, Bentley shares in a statement, “2020 was a chance for me to give my guitar and the road a little rest. It gave me the chance to spend a lot more time adventuring outdoors with family and friends, but also alone.”

“It also gave me time to reset and rekindle my love of country music and a lot of the types of songs and sounds that I fell in love with when I first got to Nashville. I think you’ll hear that in this first track, but it carries across the whole album,” he says of the highly anticipated record, which is due out early next year.

Bentley’s new single comes on the heels of his brand-new collaboration with Elle King, “Worth a Shot.” Prior to that, the country hitmaker notched his 18th No. 1 single with the Hardy and Breland-assisted “Beers on Me.”

Bentley and King will reunite to serve as first-time hosts for the upcoming CMA Fest TV special. Airing on August 3 on ABC, the three-hour primetime special was filmed in Nashville during CMA Fest in June.

The “Drunk on a Plane” hitmaker is also on the road with Ashley McBryde and Travis Denning on his Beers on Me Tour. The trek continues all summer with a stop in Nashville on August 26, before wrapping up in Jacksonville, Fla., on Aug. 28.

See Inside Dierks Bentley's Southwestern Mansion:

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