Luke Bryan has had a very interesting career. His songbook primarily resides in easy listening, bro anthems geared specifically as radio fodder – which is disappointing as he’s a rather strong vocalist. But every so often, he swings with an absolute home run. With “Build Me a Daddy,” he just might have arrived at a career-best.
The ballad is a real tear-jerker, and there’s no way you won’t be mopping up a flood of tears afterward. “A boy walks past a window of a glowing, ‘open’ sign / Full of wooden toys and trucks and painted trains,” Bryan sets the scene of a little boy missing his late father. “Rings a bell up on the counter, hands a picture to the man / Of a kid beside a soldier smilin’ away / Said, “Sir, I’ve heard you can build anything”
“Could you build me a daddy?” he then asks the clerk. Phew! What a crushing song.
Listen to “Build Me a Daddy” below.