Fresh from his passionate performance of Burden at Sunday nights ACM Awards, capped by his first-ever ACM Entertainer of the Year victory, Keith Urban has officially sent his recorded version of the uplifting tune to streaming services. The piano-driven tune, written by Irish musician Foy Vance, and produced by Urban with the ubiquitous Dave Cobb, had a profound and immediate effect on the singer when he first heard it.
I was riding my bicycle, and I just stopped, Urban told Billboard of the song taken from Vances 2016 LP The Wild Swan. It went right into the center of me. I got back to Nashville and thought Id love to capture how I feel about this song if I can.
In the songs second verse, Urban sings, When your mouths on fire but your mind is cold and youre fanning flames that wont keep you warm/Come to me, my brother and I will sit with you awhile, pretty soon Ill see you smile and you know you will.
The songs universal message of healing and rebirth can also be seen as one of a spiritual nature as Urban sings, Let me carry your burden, come tomorrow youll be right as rain/Itll quench your fire, wash away your stain. As the song ends, the quiet piano is replaced by fiery guitars and Urbans vocal turns from inwardly intense to soul-baring, accompanied by wailing guitar and an ethereal gospel choir.
Its currently unknown if Burden will appear on Urbans next full-length LP. His most recent radio hit was Never Comin Down, the fourth single from the 2018 album Graffiti U.