Songfacts®:

• This moving, mandolin-infused country song describes a little boy's relationship with his dad, who is always there to comfort him. When the son joins the military and departs to fight overseas, he's no longer a child but can still count on his dad. The reassuring chorus is sung from the son's point of view, telling his dad that even though he won't be with him physically, they will still be together in spirit.
  
  It's okay, I know you're scared when I'm not here
  But I'll always be right there
  Even though I'm leavin', I ain't goin' nowhere
• Luke Combs wrote the song with:
  
  His regular writing partner Ray Fulcher. The singer-songwriter contributed towards eight tracks on Combs' This One's for You album (including "When It Rains It Pours"), and three on The Prequel.
  
  Zac Brown's usual songwriting partner Wyatt Durrette.
• Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher and Wyatt Durrette penned the song on February 25, 2016. They wrote it well before Combs had become a country radio mainstay, but decided to wait for the appropriate time before releasing the track. "The emotion was palpable in the room," Fulcher recalled to Taste of Country. "We actually had it ready before they finished up the first record, but I remember everybody going, 'This song is too big for album one. Let's wait.'"
• It was Durrette who had the original idea for the song. The only father among the trio at the time, he was inspired by his near-to-teenage son. Durrette suggested to his co-writers penning a letter to his boy letting him know he'd always be there. According to Fulcher, Combs and him came on board with the idea easily. "It wasn't that hard," he explained. "Me and Luke love love songs and love country music, the lyrics of country music. And I love writing songs where I don't pull from my own experiences, but put myself in someone else's shoes."
• Fulcher's favorite lyric is in the second verse.
  
  I know I act tough, but there's a churnin' in my gut
  'Cause I just can't call you up when things get rough
  
  "I'm that guy," he said. "If there's a situation where someone needs to act tough in or stand up and be a man, I'm trying to be that guy."
• Luke Combs explained to The Boot that as he and Fulcher aren't dads, they decided to start off the song by channeling the "monsters right outside" they remembered from their childhoods.
  
  Combs told the other two songwriters about how his parents always would tuck him in at night "and make sure there wasn't a bogeyman behind the curtains or whatever."
  
  The three started going down that road, which then led them to the "Even though I'm leavin', I ain't goin' nowhere" hook. The song then naturally progressed from there.