Jim Wright/Capitol Records NashvilleLuke Bryan paints an evocative picture of grief and loss in “Build Me a Daddy,” the newest song to be released off his forthcoming Born Here Live Here Die Here album.
The ballad tells the story of a young boy who walks into a toy shop, a photograph of his late father in hand, and asks the toymaker to build him a new dad.
“Maybe you could bring him back/If I walked in with him, it’d sure make my mama happy,” Luke sings in the song’s chorus. “If you could build me a daddy.”
Guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings of anyone who hears it, “Build Me a Daddy” is the perfect listen for fans who need a good cry, or anyone who loves classic, heartbreaking country music storytelling. The song is the sixth track on Born Here Live Here Die Here, which is now due to come out on August 7 after being postponed from its original April release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luke also debuted a music video for his new song, with a simple treatment that allows viewers to focus mostly on the story. In the clip, Luke sits alone in an empty, run-down house, strumming a guitar and gazing out the window as he sings.
At the end of the song, two boys run up and wrap Luke in a hug, underscoring the relationship the singer has with his own young sons, 9-year-old Tatum Christopher and 12-year-old Thomas Boyer.
“I’ve played this song for a lot of my hardcore buddies and it chokes them up,” Luke wrote of “Build Me a Daddy” on Twitter. “I think that’s the beauty of country music, to really make you feel emotional.”
By Carena Liptak
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