Cole Swindell on ‘You Should Be Here': ‘How Do You Top a Song Like That?’

Cole Swindell recently earned his fifth consecutive No. 1 hit with "You Should Be Here," the title track of and first single from his sophomore album. The singer-songwriter says that if the track ends up becoming his "career song" -- well, that would be just fine with him.

"If I’m going to pick a career song, it would be this one. There’s nothing I feel more passionate about. I think we’ve got some other great songs on this album, but how do you top a song like that?" Swindell recently told The Boot and other reporters. "That’s what makes it so special, is that they’re not all this good. This is one of those moments of, [it's] just meant to be. It was a real situation."

The success of "You Should Be Here" was undoubtedly propelled by its emotional music video, which shows the singer returning to his father's grave for the first time since the funeral.

"That was honestly the toughest video, yet the most rewarding thing, I’ve ever done," Swindell admits. "I didn’t know what a life the video was going to give the song ... What this video did is let everyone know how I take it and what this song means to me.

"Once you see your last name in stone, I think it was finally real," he continues. "We didn’t know if that was even going to be in the video; the cameras were way off. They gave me my time out there, but they used some of that clip, because it was so real. There’s no second takes on that one. But I think it made the video more powerful ... If seeing my tears or seeing me get upset helps anybody else, then that’s what I’m here for."

Still, Swindell admits that he was unprepared for the outpouring of messages he received after the song was released.

"I try to read and respond to the ones that I can, because if they’re going to take the time to write all that, I certainly want to be there for them and let them know I’m thinking about them," Swindell says. "There’s a lot of stories.

"People [say], ‘I didn’t want to bother you, but I just wanted to tell you my story about that song,'" he continues. "You’re never bothering me. That just lets me know that hopefully we’re doing our job, because I think we do have a responsibility."

Additionally, hearing about the tragedies others have endured has also helped Swindell in his own healing.

"Getting to hear these stories has helped me as much as it’s helped anyone else," he says.

"You Should Be Here" is available for download on iTunes.