Kip Moore is never one to shy away from a cause he believes in, and he believes in his recent partnership with Country Inns & Suites, which aims to shine a light on the military and their families.

The Military 1st initiative allows active service men and women, veterans and their spouses and families special rates and upgraded rooms at the company's hotels throughout North America. It's the chain and Moore's way of saying thank you to those who fight for our freedom every day.

Both of Moore's grandfathers served in the military, so as the "More Girls Like You" singer tells Taste of Country, anytime he gets a chance to be involved with a program that is doing something impactful, he takes it. The Military 1st initiative is something he can support wholeheartedly.

"They're making the ultimate sacrifice for us," Moore says. "Every day that we're here hanging out with each other and having a good time, they're on the front lines. I get to do what I love every single day because they take care of us. This is my way of saying thank you and this is Country Inns & Suites way of saying thank you."

In addition to discounted rates, in the lobby of every hotel there is a place for patrons to write thank you letters to the military as part of Operation Gratitude. These letters are then sent to the men and women fighting overseas.

Years ago, Moore wrote a song called "Battle Cry" for U.S. soldiers while riding the subway in New York City. It's his personal thank you, though he has only played the song live a few times, a fan captured his performance on video and it went viral. Now, he hopes to one day put "Battle Cry" on an album.

"That's where I try to write from — being inside the mind of a soldier from my encounters in conversations with people that have served," he shares. The song looks at what a soldier must be going through, mentally, on the front lines. "What they actually feel and what they're actually going through. That's the picture I was trying to paint, from a more honest standpoint."

Poignant lyrics in "Battle Cry" include: "Save my tears and let the whole world hear my battle cry" and "I take one last look at my baby's eyes from a worn out pic taken last July."

"From the friends I have, they're always carrying around those pictures of their loved ones," Moore notes. "I would think that that would be a powerful thing, when you haven't seen your family in a long time, looking at those pictures every night."

Country Artists Who Served Their Country

Moore recalls one soldier telling him that Up All Night, the singer's debut album, helped him get through his entire tour in Afghanistan. It's something Moore takes to heart.

"They were hiding out in all these different places and that was the record that they listened to over and over," he says softly. "That was a whole new level of understanding that now your words have a different, profound impact on people. It made me internalize even more now when I'm writing and understanding that you're not just writing songs in the dark anymore. Now, there's actually an audience around the world that might hear these songs. It holds more weight when you're writing. It actually made me focus more on what I've been writing, [to] dig even deeper for the right lyric."

Fans will get to hear these thoughtful lyrics on the singer's forthcoming third studio album, Slowheart, which will be released on Sept. 8. Moore co-wrote 11 of the record's 13 tracks. He previously told Taste of Country that it is his favorite body of work he's been a part of.

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