Luke Bryan Performs Powerful 'Build Me a Daddy' on 'Tonight Show'

Luke Bryan got into the Father’s Day spirit a little early this year. On Thursday night (June 18), the country superstar and father of two appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for the debut television performance of his brand-new song “Build Me a Daddy.”

The heart-wrenching song, which dropped earlier in June, tells the story of a young boy who's coping with the loss of his father, who apparently died while serving in the armed forces. In the song, the child walks by a toy shop and is drawn inside by toys he sees through the window; he sweetly asks the toymaker to build him a daddy similar to his own so that he can bring him back home to his mother.

For Bryan’s quarantine-styled performance, the singer accompanied himself on electric guitar, gently plucking the strings as he sang. Seated on a wooden chair in an empty room full of stained glass windows, he offered up his signature vocals to unveil the emotional lyrics of the devastating country ballad.

“Could you build me a daddy? / Strong as Superman / Make him 10 feet tall with a southern drawl / And a crooked smile if you can,” Bryan crooned in the chorus. “'Cause I sure miss him / Maybe you could bring him back / If I walked in with him, it'd sure make mama happy / If you could build me a daddy."

Jake Mitchell, Josh Thompson and Brett Tyler co-wrote “Build Me a Daddy,” which is the latest offering from Bryan’s highly anticipated upcoming seventh studio album, Born Here, Live Here, Die Here. Previous singles “Knockin’ Boots,” “What She Wants Tonight" and “One Margarita” will also appear on the forthcoming project, slated to drop on Aug. 7.