Cole Swindell sadly lost his mother last week, but made sure to honor her this weekend with an emotional performance of his hit “You Should Be Here.”
Cole honored his late mother, Betty Carol Rainey, during his performance in Boston on Saturday night as he was back on the road for Thomas Rhett’s Center Point Road Tour.
Our condolences go out to Cole. The death of his mother comes eight years after the unexpected passing of his father who died in 2013 just as his career taking off.
His song “You Should Be Here” was written as a tribute to his father who died unexpectedly while he was out on tour after signing his record deal, but this weekend he played the song in honor of his mother, Betty.
“I’m not the only one whose ever lost someone I love. I think we all have someone we wish was here tonight. And I will always have a special connection with all of you in this whole area because I will never forget the day sitting in the parking lot at Gillette Stadium writing this song right here,” Cole said. “I wish y’all could see the chills on my arm right now, but I wrote it after losing my Dad y’all, and your stories have inspired me. They keep me going and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for y’all.”
Cole continued, “on Monday I lost my Mom. I’m sure a lot of you have heard. Thank you for all of the messages, thank you for the sign. We had her service [on] Wednesday and I flew out because Thomas Rhett said ‘hey man, take the weekend off, go to our beach house and just relax’ and I said ‘there’s no way I’m missing being up here, being in front of a crowd like this. These people have had my back since day one’ and I can promise you, My mama, she wouldn’t want me sitting at home, she would want me on stage in front of a crowd like this; people who care, people who matter.”
After a touching speech to the crowd, Cole asked the audience to light up their cell phones and “sing to somebody you’re thinking about up there that’s got a better seat than us tonight.”
Watch the emotion-filled moment in the fan-captured video below.
9-20-21
