Craig Morgan Delivers an Emotional Tribute to His Late Son at the Grand Ole Opry
For Craig Morgan, performing “The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost” on the Grand Ole Opry stage meant confronting one of the deepest losses of his life in front of a packed audience.
In July 2019, the country singer performed the deeply personal song he wrote about his late son, Jerry, at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. Morgan, then 55, struggled to hold back his emotions as he sang about grief, faith and the feeling that Jerry was still with him.
Jerry died in a tubing accident in July 2016 at the age of 19. His death left a lasting void in Morgan’s family, and that loss became the heart of “The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost.”
The song was ultimately released as Morgan’s first single in three years, but performing it publicly was something he initially found extremely difficult.
A performance filled with grief and faith
Morgan stood on the Opry stage with his eyes closed for much of the performance, appearing close to tears as he worked his way through the song.
His familiar tenor carried the melody, but there was a noticeably heavier sense of pain in his voice. Every line felt deeply personal, reflecting the experience of a father trying to live with the loss of his son.
By the time the performance ended, the audience responded with a massive ovation.
Morgan had written the song around the emptiness Jerry’s death left behind, but faith became an equally important part of its message. The song reflects his belief that although Jerry is no longer physically present, his presence continues to be felt by those who loved him.
The Opry performance took place on July 16, 2019, and the song was released as a single on Aug. 30.
“It was very tough to write”
Morgan later explained that writing and performing the song were both painful experiences.
During an appearance on Fox & Friends’ All-American Concert Series, he said the song was “very tough to write” and equally difficult to perform. He also explained that releasing it had not originally been his plan.
According to Morgan, a close friend encouraged him to sing the song after hearing it, telling him that he needed to share it. An Opry member also urged him to perform it.
That encouragement eventually led Morgan to bring the song to the Opry stage.
The song centers on the idea that Jerry may no longer be physically present, but that his memory and influence remain part of everyday life.
“I know my boy ain’t here, but he ain’t gone.”
For Morgan, that belief is tied closely to the people Jerry left behind, as well as the scholarship established in his name.
“He might not physically be here, but his presence is felt,” Morgan said.
Morgan says he still sees signs from Jerry
Morgan also spoke about what he considers small signs that remind him of his son.
Jerry’s sports number was 13, and Morgan recalled one occasion when he got out of his truck and noticed 13 cents lying on the ground near his door.
To Morgan, the coincidence carried a deeper meaning.
“And he gives me little signs all the time,” he said. “His [sports] number was 13, and literally, here a while back, I got out of the truck and there was 13 cents laying on the ground at my door. That’s a Biblical thing, and I feel it.”
Those moments have become part of how Morgan continues to process his grief.
A song Morgan hopes can help others
Although “The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost” was born from one of the most painful experiences of Morgan’s life, he wanted its message to reach people facing their own difficult circumstances.
His hope was that listeners struggling with loss or hardship would find encouragement in the song and hold on to their faith.
“I hope that through this song, I can encourage other people to stick with their faith and make it work,” Morgan said.
The song’s impact quickly extended beyond the Opry. It became Morgan’s first new music in more than three years and later reached No. 1 on iTunes’ all-genre and country song charts. Blake Shelton helped drive attention to the song with a social-media campaign supporting Morgan and the tribute to Jerry.
For Morgan, however, the significance of the song went far beyond its chart success.
It gave him a way to put his grief into words and to share the role faith had played in helping him move forward after Jerry’s death. And when he sang it at the Grand Ole Opry, the emotion was impossible to separate from the story behind every note.
The result was a performance that felt less like an ordinary country music appearance and more like a deeply personal tribute from a father remembering his son.
Source: Grand Ole Opry via YouTube; additional background from contemporary coverage of Craig Morgan’s song and performance.