Cole Swindell Sings ‘You Should Be Here’ In Front Of Freedom Tower To Honor 9/11 Families
on May 10, 2016 • Updated Aug 18, 2020
Cole Swindell serves as the voice behind one of the most emotional songs in recent years, and it’s called “You Should Be Here.”
“You Should Be Here” was co-written by Swindell and Ashley Gorley, and has a deeply personal connection to Swindell.
Months before the release of his debut album, Swindell’s world was rocked by tragedy when his father unexpectedly passed away. His father’s death went on to inspire “You Should Be Here,” in which Swindell sings about all of the moments in life that his father should still be here to experience along with him.
Due to the song’s heartbreaking backstory and Swindell’s honest delivery of the lyrics, country fans grasped on to it quickly, and it soared up the charts. It went on to claim the top spot on the Billboard country charts and even crossed over to take the 31st spot on the Billboard pop charts.
Although it’s always an emotional experience for Swindell when he performs the song, his performance in May of 2016 is perhaps the biggest tearjerker. In a video shared by Fox News, Swindell performed the song on top of the 4 World Trade Center in New York.
In the background, you can see the Freedom Tower, which serves as the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex.
Freedom Tower speaks to the resilience of this nation. The memorials at the sites where we were attacked on 9/11 speak to our humanity. Take time to remember today. Peace. pic.twitter.com/gt7lj2n7DP
— Matt Cook, Ed.D. (@Matt_l_cook) September 11, 2019
This time, Swindell’s performance was not just about his father, but about all of the lives lost on 9/11. You can tell the thought weighed heavy on Swindell’s mind, as he kept glancing up toward the sky and even got choked up a bit toward the end.
Prior to the performance, Swindell spoke about how honored he was to sing “You Should Be Here” at such an important place:
“This is probably the most special performance of my career. I’m not sure I deserve to be the one doing this. But it’s such an amazing feeling that I have a song that I wrote about personal experience…to see this country and the fans relate to it the way that they do. I think we’ve all got somebody we’re missing or that we’ve lost that could be making every moment we get to spend a little bit better.”
We’ve watched Swindell perform “You Should Be Here” many times before, but this is one of the most meaningful performances we’ve ever seen. Check it out in the video below, and make sure to keep some tissues nearby, because you’re going to need them.
