Cole Swindell, ‘You Should Be Here’ [Listen]

Cole Swindell's "You Should Be Here" is personal and accessible. The piano-driven ballad about the death of his father isn’t so specific that those who haven’t lost a parent feel left out. More than a tribute, it's a soundtrack for those moments that are perfect except for one vacant parking spot.

While Swindell’s vocal performance is his most sincere to date, there are few lyrics specific to his loss only. Different artists deal with death in different ways, and the 32-year-old has decided to write about it, but in a way that allows others to draw their own face on the man or woman who should be here.

“You’d be taking too many pictures on your phone / Showin’ them off to everybody that you know back home / And even some you don’t, yeah / They say now you’re in a better place / I would be too if I could see your face / You should be here,” Swindell sings during the second verse. A piano and synthesizer foreshadows the song's melancholy mood.

The sadness is hardly lifted as he says:

“You should be here / Standing with your arm around me here / Cuttin’ up, crackin’ a cold beer / Sayin’ cheers, hey y’all it’s sure been a good year / It’s one of those moments / That’s got your name written all over it / You know if I had just one wish / It’d be that you didn’t have to miss this / You should be here.”

Swindell wrote "You Should Be Here" with Ashley Gorley while his tour bus was parked outside of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. He says when he heard Gorley’s title, he knew where he needed to go. It was time for this story to be told.

Why Fans Will Love It: Swindell brings back bittersweet memories with this open-to-interpretation lost love song.

Key Lyrics: "You know if I had just one wish / It’d be that you didn’t have to miss this / You should be here.”

Did You Know?: "You Should Be Here" is the first single from Swindell's second album, the followup to Cole Swindell.

Listen to Cole Swindell, “You Should Be Here”