Trying to Stop Your Leaving
{{Infobox song
| name = Trying to Stop Your Leaving
| cover = Dierks Bentley - Trying to Stop Your Leaving.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Dierks Bentley
| album = Long Trip Alone
| released = January 28, 2008
| recorded = 2006
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = 3:38
| label = Capitol Nashville
| writer = {{flatlist|
- Brett Beavers
- Jim Beavers
- Dierks Bentley[http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=503656459&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1 Ascap entry for song] Accessed 21 June 2011 ASCAP
}}
| producer = Brett Beavers
| prev_title = Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)
| prev_year = 2007
| next_title = Feel That Fire
| next_year = 2008
}}
"Trying to Stop Your Leaving" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released in January 2008 as the fourth and final single from his 2006 album Long Trip Alone. It peaked at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and at number 73 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was written by Bentley, Brett Beavers and Jim Beavers.
Content
The narrator is a man who is describing his difficulty in trying to keep his lover from leaving him. He uses various metaphors to illustrate his point. For example, in one verse, he compares the situation to throwing a pebble into the Rio Grande, stating that he could "throw in a million more and not slow it down".
Critical reception
Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song an A− grade, saying that he liked the "rise and fall in intensity, [and] the delicate intertwining of the electric guitar and the steel."{{cite web|url=http://www.countryuniverse.net/2008/01/25/review-dierks-bentley-trying-to-stop-your-leaving/|title=Dierks Bentley - "Trying to Stop Your Leaving"|last=Coyne|first=Kevin John|date=January 25, 2008|work=Country Universe|accessdate=June 17, 2010}} In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin put "Trying to Stop Your Leaving" at number two on his top 10 list of Bentley's best songs.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/7858082/dierks-bentley-songs-best-hits-list|title=Dierks Bentley's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks|last=Dauphin|first=Chuck|authorlink=Chuck Dauphin|magazine=Billboard|date=July 14, 2017|accessdate=May 18, 2020}}
Music video
The music video was directed by Trey Fanjoy, and features Bentley standing by a river, and him and his band playing in the middle of a railroad track in a tunnel. It also features Bentley and his (only in the video) wife fighting and her packing her bags. It also shows them having sexual activity.
Chart performance
"Trying to Stop Your Leaving" debuted at number 57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of January 26, 2008.
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Chart (2008) ! Peak |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcanadacountry|13|artist=Dierks Bentley|artistid=514750|accessdate=April 4, 2011}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|73|artist=Dierks Bentley|artistid=514750|accessdate=April 4, 2011}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|5|artist=Dierks Bentley|artistid=514750|accessdate=April 4, 2011}} |