Chesney builds with "Better Boat"

The song is the second from his just released disc, "Songs for the Saints." The first single was the hit "Get Along."

"Of all the songs on 'Songs for the Saints,' 'Better Boat' really captures the emotion of that moment - and the months following Hurricanes Irma and Maria," Chesney said. "There's an acceptance it takes to face those challenges and all that uncertainty, something I know I've never seen in my lifetime.

"There's a lyric that goes, 'I ride the waves I can't control...' And that's exactly how this was, and in some ways, still is."

The disc was based on the affect of the hurricanes on St. John's where Chesney has a residence.

Opening with a gut string guitar part played by Mac McAnally, "Better Boat" covers themes of vulnerability and acceptance. Written by Travis Meadows and Liz Rose, it features Smith, the very first winner of the Americana Music Awards New/Emerging Artist.

"Mindy's voice is so much a part of my life on the islands: I remember 'Come To Jesus' so many nights, and so many mornings. Her voice would drift in through the windows, across the water, and it would just hold you. She's like an angel, or a spirit who makes everything feel like it will be alright - and I thought that's everything this song says beyond the actual words."

"Travis Meadows and Liz Rose really captured that raw edge that comes from being overwhelmed and unsure of how you're going to get there, but finding the faith to hang on," Chesney said. "We've all been there in one way or another, but it's the ability to trust what you can't see when you're sure you can't take anymore that is so impossible to find sometimes. They not only put it in a song, but they put it on a song with a melody that feels like everything the song is trying to convey."