Lee Brice says his CMA-winning hit “I Drive Your Truck” continues to humble him. Recently a war veteran gave him a gift that now serves as a daily reminder of how precious life can be, and how music can serve a greater purpose.

“A soldier came up to me and said, ‘I want you to have this bullet,’” Brice shares during an interview prior to the 2015 CMA Awards, holding onto the chain around his neck. “He’s like, ‘I’ve been carrying it around in my pocket for two years.’ He’d lost his buddy overseas.”

The man identified with “I Drive Your Truck,” the 2013 CMA and 2014 ACM-winning song from Brice’s Hard 2 Love album. It’s a story about how a man drives his brother’s old truck to cope with his death. Brice put the bullet in his pocket, but didn’t want to lose it, so he later affixed it to a necklace.

“There are so many stories out there. It’s just a good reminder, you know?” Brice says of the bullet. “That song humbles me every night.”

Brice’s hit song “I Don’t Dance” was nominated for Single of the Year at the 2015 CMA Awards. The award ultimately went to Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush.” Brice will headline Country on the River festival in 2016.

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