Alan Jackson‘s “You’ll Always Be My Baby” finds the father of three nostalgic, but happily so. A twangy guitar and upbeat, midtempo melody keep this perfect father-daughter dance song from being sad.
Throughout the song, Jackson reflects on his baby girl’s childhood milestones, from her “first steps, first words” to her first broken heart. He’s been there through it all, and, as he promises in the final verse, he’ll be there for whatever comes next, too.
“You’re a woman on your own / All in love and nearly gone / But you’ll always be my baby,” Jackson sings each chorus. “No matter where you are / You’ll always be my baby / Forever in my heart.”
“You’ll Always Be My Baby” is one of two songs on Jackson’s forthcoming new album, Where Have You Gone, that he wrote for his daughters’ weddings. The other is a song called “I Do.”
“The first I wrote for Mattie’s wedding, the summer of 2017,” Jackson says in a press release. “But it was so hard to do, I told ’em, ‘I wrote this for all of you. I’m not writing another!’ The second just came out one day.”
Jackson’s family is all over this album, in fact: It also includes a song inspired by his late mother. The singer wrote “Where Her Heart Has Always Been” for his mom’s funeral, and it features an old recording of her reading from the Bible.
Where Have You Gone is due out on May 14. It’s Jackson’s first new album since Angels & Alcohol in 2015 and is currently available for pre-order.
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