"You Should Be Here" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Cole Swindell. The song was released to radio on December 14, 2015, by

Warner Bros. Nashville Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is a ...

as the lead single to his second studio album of the same name (2016). The song, written by Swindell and

Ashley Gorley Ashley Glenn Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 60 number 1 songs and has over 300 songs recorded by artists including ...

, is a tribute to Swindell's father who died unexpectedly while Swindell was out on tour after signing his record deal. "You Should Be Here" reached number one on both the ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

and

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts respectively, giving Swindell his fourth number-one country hit overall. It also gave him his second top 40 hit on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, peaking at number 31. The song was certified 2× platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, and has sold 706,000 copies in the United States as of July 2016. It achieved similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number three on the Country chart and number 67 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

. An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Michael Monaco.

Background

The song is the title track of Swindell's second album '' You Should Be Here''. The song was written as a tribute to his father, who died unexpectedly while Swindell was out on his radio tour in September 2013, shortly after Swindell had signed a record deal with Warner Music Nashville. According to CMT News, Swindell's father, William Swindell, died unexpectedly "when a truck he was working on fell on him."

Critical reception

Website '' Taste of Country'' reviewed the single favorably, saying that "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." In 2017, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' contributor

Chuck Dauphin Charles Frederick Dauphin III (February 17, 1974 – September 18, 2019) was an American sports and country music journalist. He was a radio broadcaster for WDKN in Dickson, Tennessee Dickson is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Located in ...

placed "You Should Be Here" at number one on his top 10 list of Swindell's best songs.

Commercial performance

''You Should Be Here'' debuted at number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 10 on Hot Country Songs charts on the song release. The song topped both the Hot Country Songs, and the Country Airplay charts in March 2016. The song peaked at number 31 on the Hot 100 for chart dated April 16, 2016. As of July 2016, the song has sold 706,000 copies in the United States. On April 4, 2019, the single was certified 2× platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for combined sales and streaming data of over a million units in the United States.

Music video

The music video was directed by Michael Monaco and premiered in December 2015.

Personnel

*Pat Buchanan – electric guitar * Michael Carter – electric guitar,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, programming *Dave Cohen – keyboards *James Mitchell – electric guitar *Greg Morrow –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, percussion *Billy Panda –

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Cole Swindell – lead vocals *Russell Terrell – background vocals *Patrick Thrasher – programming *Mike Wolofsky – bass guitar

Charts

Weekly charts

Year end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Country ballads 2010s ballads Cole Swindell songs Warner Records Nashville singles Songs written by Cole Swindell Songs written by Ashley Gorley Commemoration songs Warner Records singles