Blake Shelton Hopes He’ll ‘Come Back as a Country Boy’ in New Single [Listen]

Blake Shelton says his new song "Come Back as a Country Boy" is an anthem for hard-working country people. The new radio single dropped on Friday (Oct. 1) and is included on a deluxe version of his latest album, set for December.

Hardy, Josh Thompson and Jordan Schmidt wrote "Come Back as a Country Boy," Shelton's first single since "Minimum Wage" peaked inside the Top 10 on country airplay charts earlier this year. It's described as a song that "extolls the virtues of living the country lifestyle" and relies on a premise of "If his neck don't come out red / Then, Lord, just keep him dead."

"“Come Back as a Country Boy” is song basically about just having so much pride about being country and living the country lifestyle that even if you come back to life, you wouldn’t do it unless you could be country again," Shelton shares.

Shelton plans to drop several new songs with the deluxe version of Body Language, due out on Dec. 3. The album was originally released in May and included other songs from Hardy and Thompson.

Speaking more specifically of the song's message, Shelton said it's about taking pride in being country. "We have so much pride in who we are and what we do," he says.

That message indicates a return to an edgier tone for Shelton, who had relied on a more polished country sound for his last three singles: "Nobody But You," "Happy Anywhere" and "Minimum Wage." "God's Country" was similar to what he's describing, and that song (a hit in 2020) was also written by Hardy and Schmidt, with Devin Dawson.