Here’s a brilliantly crafted, emotionally affecting new single from Charles Wesley Godwin. Co-written with Lori McKenna and featuring Wyatt Flores, Hey There Son is a deeply reflective song that explores life and loss in a way that is both personal and universal at the same time. Anyone who has said goodbye to a parent will associate with Godwin’s open-hearted words, which are cleverly structured so that we follow the narrative from his birth, through growing up, starting a relationship and becoming a father himself. Finally, there’s that switch: when the son becomes the carer before saying goodbye. It’s authentic, sensitive songwriting that speaks to the human condition and the most important of themes: the passage of time. Hey There Son is made all the more impactful by a video that uses old family film footage, reinforcing those connections.
Godwin explains: “I started writing Hey There Son in 2019, around the time my first son was born. I’m a huge fan of Lori McKenna, and always felt like she’d be the perfect person to help me finish it. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to bring it to her in 2024, and we knocked it out in an afternoon. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room by the time we finished. When Al Torrence and I started recording it, I knew I wanted that perspective shift in the final verse, and Wyatt was the obvious choice. He’s incredible, and his performance took the song to the next level. I’m really proud of this one.”
This is a key song from Godwin’s new album, Christian Name, due out on 24th July 2026 via Big Loud Records. There are lots of collaborations across the album; as well as Wyatt Flores, Luke Combs makes an appearance in a set of songs that reflect a very personal journey through grief and redemption. Godwin says of the new collection: “These songs really meant a lot to me. There’s parts of me and parts of the things that I’ve gone through in the last couple years that are in each and every song on this album. I had a lot of help with this album; I sought out people, and they brought a lot of the hope and the light and the lighter moments of the album. That was a lot of their influence. The album needed that.”
Check this out with the lyrics below the video. It’s beautiful stuff that draws that circle so effectively: life, growth, love, loss and legacy.
Lyrics:
Hey there son
I can’t wait to get to know ya
Can’t wait to get to show ya
All the things in this world that you’ve got coming your way
Let’s let your momma rest now, it’ll be okay
Hey there son
Listen to your teachers
Keep in mind what the preacher
Prayed when he dipped your head in the river
I’m loving every moment watching you grow up
You came into the world with a mighty cry
That moment I first held you, I’d never been more alive
Heart open wide, I’m on your side
Hey there, son, I see the way you look at her
A little house and some furniture
If you need help, don’t be too proud to turn to your old man
She’s a keeper, how’d you reel that in?
You came into the world with a mighty cry
That moment I first held you, I’d never been more alive
Heart open wide, I’m on your side
Now you know how I felt when I held you in my hands
It is such a joy to see you grow to be this man
I don’t mean to bring you down, but time is such a thief
I was going to keep it to myself, but I got some news last week
Hey there Dad
You were there when I was born with a mighty cry
From that moment you held me on the first day of my life
Our hearts open wide
Now, I’m by your side
Get some rest, now
You’re the best, now
Goodbye Dad
