Luke Combs Teases Emotional Wedding Ballad That Echoes Garth Brooks’ Classic Heart
Just hours ahead of the 2025 CMA Awards, where he is a nominee for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Single of the Year for “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma,” Luke Combs has generated immense buzz by teasing a powerful new track.1 The unreleased song, “Giving Her Away,” is already being hailed as one of the most emotional country ballads since Garth Brooks’ 1990s classics.
Combs shared a snippet of the song on Instagram, confirming the absolute “tear jerker” centers on a wedding day. However, it offers a distinct and deeply resonant perspective: it’s told from the view of the groom, written as a personal letter or conversation directed to the bride’s father. The groom acknowledges the father’s role as her “first love” and the unique, unbreakable bond they share.
The power of the song is immediately evident in the opening lines of the first verse:
“You’ll always be her first love
And mine’s walking down the aisle
That song’s about to play
We’re going to say ‘I Do’
And for the rest of my days
I’ll do my best to fill your shoes
Only she could’ve got us both in suits
Only she could’ve got us out our boots”
The song beautifully captures the shared, bittersweet emotion of the moment, particularly for the men involved. The most poignant section details the shared tears and life-changing finality of the marriage:
“Fighting back every tear that we both knew
We were gonna cry today
Neither one of us knows what to do
Standing up in front of a crowded room
On a Spring time Saturday afternoon
With both our lives about to change
Man, you brought your baby
I brought a ring and I’m giving her my name
And you’re giving her away”
While country music has many songs about a father giving away his daughter or a man marrying his true love, “Giving Her Away” is notable for framing the moment as a shared experience between the two men who love the woman most. This unique perspective on their shared devotion is being called “absolutely beautiful” and highly relatable, especially for “girl dads” everywhere.
Combs recently confirmed that a new album is slated for next year, and he had previously mentioned cutting “over 30 songs” for the record.2 If the rest of the material matches the emotional depth of “Giving Her Away,” fans are truly in for something special.
Combs’ “My Kinda Saturday Night” world tour is set to kick off in March of 2026. The itinerary includes major stadium and arena dates across North America and Europe: March 21 (Las Vegas, NV), April 4 (Charlottesville, VA), April 11 (Ames, IA), April 18 (South Bend, IN), April 25 (Columbus, OH), May 2 (Knoxville, TN), May 9 (Norman, OK), May 15 & 16 (Green Bay, WI), May 30 (Montreal, QC), June 5 & 6 (Toronto, ON), July 4 (Gothenburg, Sweden), July 7 (Paris, France), July 11 (Amsterdam, Netherlands), July 18 & 19 (Slane, Ireland), July 25 (Edinburgh, UK), and August 1 (London, UK).
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