Country Star Cole Swindell on Father’s Day and His Hit Single ‘You Should Be Here’

For some of us, Father’s Day is less about celebration and more about missing our fathers desperately and wishing we could be celebrating the day (however commercialized) together.

Emerging country music star Cole Swindell lost his own father in 2013 and penned a tribute song “You Should Be Here,” (which is also the name of his new album) in his late father’s honor.

Get ready to sob. I did.

I caught up with Swindell, who had some thoughts to share on music, loss and the creative process.

Writing From the Heart: Writing a song that personal wasn’t easy, but we not only wanted it to relate to me but others who have lost loved ones. We made it about a big subject, “You Should Be Here.” We could not describe every moment in life but that’s what it’s about, the moments. It’s about loss, but also the moments you wish that one person could be there. I couldn’t believe the response from the fans and everyone who have heard it. I knew I wasn’t alone but I’m glad I am releasing songs that are helping folks.

Exposing Personal Pain to Fans:  The scene where I do kind of fall to my knees (in the video), that’s the first time I had been to my dad’s grave since he passed away, and that was as real as it gets. We didn’t even know we were going to use that, so that’s why the shot is so far away, because we just wanted me to have my time. It was pretty emotional and tough, but seeing that footage, I knew it had to be a part of the video

Advice on Writing Your Own Song or Tribute:  It’s tough and I do it for a living–I do it everyday, and it was [still] hard to do. In my case, I didn’t want to get too personal because I wanted to relate to everybody. Write about the things that made you smile and the things you miss about them. Just be honest and write from the heart. That’s the best way you can do it.

Writing Songs for Other Country Superstars: I had a publishing deal way before I had a record deal. Every single day I wrote a song, I was hoping somebody like Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean or whoever would record the song. It’s tough to do because there are so many great songwriters in Nashville and I was lucky enough to get some songs recorded before I got my record deal.

I never really sat in the room and said let’s write a song for a specific artist, I just wanted to write the best song I could, – the way I would say things, the way I think our country audience would say things. Luckily, the artists that did record my songs felt the same way I did and they recorded them.

On Breaking His Mother’s Heart: When I left college it broke my mom’s heart, but I knew I had to be in Nashville. I knew that was the place you had to be in to become a better songwriter and that’s what I wanted to move there for, and to ultimately get a record deal.

I didn’t know that would happen. It’s just crazy to have a dream–have a plan–and then it all just kind of comes true. To me, that proves that you have to have a vision first. I didn’t really have a strategy: I was Luke Bryan’s merch guy and I fell in love with the songwriting. Then I started thinking I didn’t want to look back. I moved to Nashville to get a record deal. I had all the songs I had written, so it was kind of perfect timing and no plan. It just worked out better then I could have ever dreamed it up.

Rediscovering Family: At this point in my career, it feels like it is gaining momentum. The FGL (Florida Georgia Line) tour just kicked off and I don’t think we have another weekend off until Christmas. It’s been a good year so far, and I just [finished] some time off. I got to go back and visit with my mom. I had to learn the hard way that family time is way more important than your career. I have put a lot into my career, but I want to start putting more into my family and know that they are proud and that they are the reason I can do what I love to do

One Last Thing: My brand new single “Middle of a Memory’ is out now and I hope you love it.