Toby Keith Keeps It 'Old School' On New Song Written By Maren Morris

Toby Keith has returned with a brand new song, "Old School,' and it's a tribute to, as the track explains, "small town sticking around."

"Old School" was written by Ryan Hurd, Maren Morris and Brett Tyler, and co-produced by Keith with Kenny Greenberg. In the chorus, Toby sings, "We're old school, small town stickin' around/ Just like folks used to, good ol' boys and girls/ Just fallin' in love, livin' the life, yeah/ Middle of nowhere feels about right/ Keepin' it old school, just the way we like."

In a press release, the country star explained of the song, When I first heard the demo, it reminded me of Steve Miller. But it had a little bit of a rap to it - not unlike the can of worms I opened years ago with 'I Wanna Talk About Me.' Then it's got the coolest melodic waterfall and I was like, 'Yeah, I gotta cut this.'"

Keith added, "'Old School' would be more of a mindset. I still go to old diners, I still live in the same town I grew up in. We still get high on fishing, stuff like that. It's more of a state of mind. It's not, um, and towns, we could be in Connecticut or we can be in Oregon. We're looking for the mom and pop diner. We're not looking for the steakhouse. That's the big chain or the big shift we're looking for. We're looking for grease dog. So, it's more of a mindset instead of just looking for things. I love old road houses and it's the simple things in life. That's what I love about this song too."

"Old School" is just the beginning of new music from Toby Keith as he also announced another new track coming out just in time for the Fourth of July called "Happy Birthday America." Set to be released on July 1st, the song was written by Keith while on the back of a boat taking in a fireworks display last year. After a friend had wished him a happy Fourth of July, Toby responded with "Happy birthday, America. Whatever's left of you." He recalled of the inspiration behind the track, "It had been a screwed up 18 months. I was seeing both sides having concern over the end of democracy. We've fought and divided almost to the point it's only about power and winning. Charlie Daniels had a song saying 'God save us all from religion.' And I'm thinking, God save us all from politicians."

Both "Old School and "Happy Birthday America" will appear on Keith's forthcoming new album, which is set to be released in the fall.