“My Hero”: David Nail’s new song is a tribute to his late grandfather

Published: July 4, 2024

“My Hero”: David Nail’s new song is a tribute to his late grandfather

By Movieguide® Contributor

Country artist David Nail says he was “honestly shocked” when he was about to perform his emotional new song “If I Could Call.”

“It’s been three years since (my grandfather) died,” Nail said of the inspiration for the song. “And writing the song wasn’t something I consciously tried to do. It just came out that way.”

Nail got the idea for the song when he asked himself, “If I could call my grandfather again, what would I say?”

“From there, I’d say 75% of the song came across effortlessly. And then it was just about making it as perfect as possible without it becoming too much of a personal story,” he explained.

Nail performed the song live for the first time in March and said he was “honestly shocked” that he would do so, given the emotional nature of the song.

“It’s still hard to talk about it, even now,” Nail said of his late grandfather. “He was my hero. He was the greatest person I ever met in my life.”

Nail even named his son David after his grandfather.

“We taught my son from a very early age that he has a very special name and is named after a very special man,” he said. “And that’s why you wear that name with pride. Every time I say my son’s name, I think of that. That’s just the way it is. I think it makes the feeling even more passionate.”

Nail shared more about his grandfather in an Instagram post to mark the release of the song.

“My grandfather was the rock of my family and when he passed away, I was fortunate to have three children to raise with his values,” he wrote. “This song is a tribute to him as a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.”

The artist also released a music video for “If I Could Call.”

“The best part about this video and the thing I’m most proud of is the fact that my son was in it,” he said of the video. “I think it’s so important to have these moments to look back on. I feel like the kids are at that age right now where they’re realizing what dad did for a living and what he continues to do. To have that memory is just really special to me.”