Cole Swindell, in some ways, might be growing up with his daughter, Rainey Gail, who will turn one on August 7. Swindell shares Rainey with his wife, Courtney, whom he wed in 2024. Now 43 years old, Swindell says it’s becoming a father that caused the most monumental shift in his personal life.
“I’ve had to make some personal changes,” Swindell admits on Country Countdown USA. “Growing up, it took me a little longer. Losing my dad and the impact he made on me. You have to find the good in every situation. Me going through that makes me know I have to be a good example. I want her to know me as her dad. It scared me to death, the life I’m leading now. I wish it could have happened sooner, but it all works out when it’s supposed to.”
Swindell admits he had no idea how special becoming a father would be, at least until Rainey was born.
“That is No. 1 on my list of all things,” Swindell says. “It’s wild; you hear how special it’s gonna be, and some of the best things you gotta live them to go tell about. It’s everything people say. It’s a lot.”
The name Rainey comes from Swindell’s mother, who passed away in 2021.
“My mother’s maiden name,” Swindell reveals. “My grandpa told me not to forget where I came from. That was the name I always thought of.”
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Cole Swindell Releases a New Song, “Girl Dad”
Swindell just released a new song, “Girl Dad.” Written by Swindell, along with Michael Tyler and Ben Stennis, “Girl Dad” is a message to his father, who passed away in 2013. The song says in part, “I met a girl, Dad, I told her I loved her / We got married out in California / Sunset on her white dress, God, it was beautiful / We saved a cold one and a chair for you / And I know you’re looking down from up there, I believe it / I just wish that I could see you see this / Little black and white picture / Yeah, I wanted so bad to tell you in person / We’re having a girl, Dad.”
“I’d heard the term ‘girl dad,'” Swindell says. “I wanted it to be more personal. It came from a real place. I’d like to think my dad would be proud of all this. It’s an update to ‘You Should Be Here.’ I want him to know what’s going on now. I want people to find some hope in this story.”
When releasing “Girl Dad,” the Georgia native said the song had a much more universal message than just a father having a daughter.
“It may be titled ‘Girl Dad,’ but it’s really for anybody going through any life moment or anything,” Swindell tells Audacy. “Those moments where you wish you could just call that one person or a couple people, and tell them. So I hope that people know that this is a special song to me, but it’s really just the power of music and also hope.”