Hear Dierks Bentley’s ‘Hold the Light’, From the Upcoming Movie ‘Only the Brave’
Dierks Bentley has released a new song that will be featured in the upcoming movie Only the Brave. Readers can press play above to listen to the haunting melody of "Hold the Light," a collaboration with Bon Iver's S. Carey.
Only the Brave tells the story of Arizona's Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite wildland firefighting crew that lost 19 firefighters in a blaze in 2013. Bentley, Carey, Joe Trapanese and Jon Randall co-wrote "Hold the Light" specifically for the movie.
“This is at the top, if not the most meaningful experience I’ve ever been a part of,” Bentley says in a press release. “It hits me harder than any other song I’ve had a chance to be a part of ... [O]ur goal was to create a message of hope and love. I’m honored to have been a part of it.”
An Arizona native, Bentley hosted a fundraising concert, which raised more than half a million dollars, following the death of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots members. He's also gotten to know Brendan McDonough, the sole survivor of the tragedy, and his mother has met with some of the Hotshots' families.
“This story resonated deeply with Dierks from the beginning," says Only the Brave director Joseph Kasinski. "The theme comes from the score, and the lyrics come from the heart, so it was a natural fit for the film."
"Hold the Light" is the first song that Bentley has written and recorded specifically for a major motion picture. Is it a slow, emotional tune that echoes the grief of the ones the fallen heroes left behind: "If you walk the ridge / You will find the marks and scars / Kneel down by the tree under the setting stars / Never say goodbye / Just let me hold the light / We never say goodbye..."
Carey also has a personal connection to Only the Brave: His brother-in-law is a wildland firefighter.
"Working on this song with Joe, Dierks and the whole crew was a true honor," he says. "I'm extremely thankful to be able to honor these men, these true heroes, in the form of a song in a beautiful, powerful film."
Only the Brave will be in theaters across the nation on Oct. 20, but "Hold The Light" is available for download now.
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