by Cameron Matthews - The Boot

Prolific country music star Vince Gill is prepping for the release of his first album in five years, 'Guitar Slinger,' which features some of the darkest songs of his career. One of those is 'Threaten Me With Heaven,' the CD's first single that Vince wrote with wife Amy Grant, Dillon O'Brian and the late Will Owsley. The song was inspired by the story of a devout Christian who received some bad news after visiting the doctor but joked, "Well, what are they going to do? Threaten me with heaven?" Vince was so moved by the story that he was compelled to write about it. But then the song took on a whole new meaning before it was even released.

"Since the song was recorded, my friend Will Owsley took his own life, so the song has a profound impact on me now," the singer explains. "In my lifetime, 'Go Rest High on That Mountain' has been the song that helped a lot of people through their grief. I think this one will in turn hopefully do the same thing. It's a powerful, powerful song. I feel like it's the crown jewel of the new record."

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