Everyone deals with grief in their own way. For singer/songwriter Luke Pilgrim, he put pen to paper and crafted the song "Goin Home" following the death of his grandmother.

The Cleveland native has released the song on iTunes and a video on YouTube with plans to release it to Christian and country music radio stations.

Pilgrim honed his songwriting and singing skills and by age 15, he had written, recorded and produced his first full-length album with the band Last November. Pilgrim toured with them for the better part of a decade.

In 2011, Pilgrim recorded his first solo album, "Sweet Tea," at Southern Tracks Studios in Atlanta.

To learn the story behind his newest single, The Times asked Pilgrim about his life, music and inspiration.

Question: What made you want to be a singer?

Answer: I started writing songs when I was about 12 years old. I was always intrigued by the storytelling aspect of songwriting. I love melodies and beautiful music all day long, but lyrics have always fascinated me the most. There’s certain moments in certain songs where you can watch someone who is listening to it and all of the sudden one of the lines truly resonates with them. It hits them and they may cry or laugh or feel nostalgic, but either way you know then that something you created had an impact on someone else’s life. Even if it was only for a brief moment. That’s why I became a singer and songwriter.

Q: How long have you been working in the music industry?

A:I started playing music really young. So at least the past 10 years.

Q: What inspired you to write "Goin’ Home?"

A: I wrote "Goin’ Home" when my grandmother passed away, so it’s very close to my heart. The song was written in her memory, but in a lot of ways it’s for everyone.

Q: What do you hope listeners will take away after hearing the song?

A: For anyone out there who has lost someone they love, the song is about moving past that hollow empty pain inside and filling it with the love and joyful memories of our loved ones. "Goin’ Home" is really a tribute to everyone who has made the trip back home before us.

Q: How did you feel when the song became available on iTunes?

A: I’m very proud of this song in particular. I’ve released a lot of songs on iTunes over the years, but this one has real substance to it and a genuine story that I hope comes across to the audience. So I was really excited to get it out in the world. I also spent a lot of time animating and editing the music video together, which is much different from videos we’ve done in the past, so I was excited to get that out there as well. It’s up at youtube.com/lukepilgrim.

Q: When should we expect to hear the song on the radio?

A: After the first of the year, we’ll be releasing to both country and Christian formats. So you can listen for it or call in to your favorite station and request it then.

Follow Luke on Twitter at @lukepilgrim or visit lukepilgrim.com to here the latest single.