"Home" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's ''Modern Day Drifter'', ar ...

. It was released in October 2011 as the second single from his 2012 album of the same name. The song reached number one on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart in March 2012. Bentley co-wrote this song with Dan Wilson and

Brett Beavers Brett Beavers (born in Waco, Texas), is an American country music songwriter and producer and the co-author of the book ''Something Worth Leaving Behind''. Education and early career Beavers attended Baylor University, where he earned a bachelo ...

. The song was selected by the Arizona Centennial Commission to serve as its official song for the state’s 100 year celebration.

Background and writing

The song was inspired by the Tucson, Arizona shooting that killed six people and critically injured

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...

in January 2011. Bentley told ''

The Desert Sun ''The Desert Sun'' is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California. History ''The Desert Sun'' is owned by Gannett publications since 1988 and acquired the Indio ''Daily News'' in 199 ...

'' that right after the shooting incident occurred, he was sitting with the song's two other writers, Dan Wilson and Brett Beavers and they were trying to make sense of the tragedy. He also points out that "the song's about a sense of being and memories of the country. Everybody's idea of America is a little different." In January 2012, singer-songwriter

Jason Isbell Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...

posted on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he thought Bentley plagiarized his song "In a Razor Town", which has a nearly identical melody. After Isbell tweeted that Bentley "brought that idea to the table", Bentley responded, "that is some funny shit!" Bentley also linked to an earlier interview with co-writer Dan Wilson discussing the writing of the song. Wilson indicated that it was a collaboration, as he and Brett Beavers developed the melody of the verses and Bentley came up with the hook of the chorus. On January 7, Isbell followed that he would not fight with Bentley over Twitter.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' gave the song three and a half stars out of five, saying that " hemood of ‘Home’ is unlike anything he’s ever released to radio" but "after a couple of listens, the shock wears off and one can appreciate Bentley’s effort." Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' gave the song five stars out of five, writing that "Dierks has kept the production ‘epic’ in scale and melody without ever succumbing to being too loud and too orchestral for some tastes." It also received a positive review in ''

'', whose Deborah Evans Price said that "The lyrics paint a picturesque portrait of our country's beauty and strength, while the melody wraps around the listener like an autumn sunset." She also praised the "understated" production and called Bentley a "dexterous" songwriter. Bentley's performance earned him a

Grammy nomination The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for

Best Country Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is design ...

Music video

The music video was directed by

Deaton-Flanigen Productions Deaton-Flanigen Productions is an American film company based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was named after the surnames of founders Robert Deaton III and George Flanigen IV. The two have directed multiple music videos, primarily in the field ...

and premiered in October 2011.

Chart performance

"Home" debuted at number 53 on the U.S. ''

chart for the week of October 15, 2011. It also debuted at number 70 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of November 26, 2011. It also debuted at number 62 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart for the week of February 25, 2012.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2011 singles Country ballads 2010s ballads Dierks Bentley songs Capitol Records Nashville singles Songs written by Dan Wilson (musician) Songs written by Brett Beavers Songs written by Dierks Bentley Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions American patriotic songs Song recordings produced by Brett Beavers 2011 songs