Garth Brooks Tears up, Restarts Performance of ‘Belleau Wood’ During CBS Holiday Special

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood brought their talents to primetime television on Sunday night for their second CBS special of the year, getting viewers into the holiday spirit with Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event.

During his performance of “Belleau Wood,” Brooks became so overcome with emotion that he had to stop and restart the song. “I’m gonna get this,” he said, wiping away a tear before resuming the performance. Brooks co-wrote “Belleau Wood” for his album Sevens, and while he typically performs an abbreviated version live, he wanted to sing the entire song for Sunday’s show. “I don’t know how long it’s been since I played the whole version, but if it’s not too much for you guys, I’d like to play the whole song,” he told viewers. “Good luck, buddy,” his wife said. “This one makes me cry and I never cry.”

“Oh the snowflakes fell in silence / Over Belleau Wood that night,” Brooks began. “For a Christmas truce had been declared / By both sides of the fight.”

“Belleau Wood” was inspired by The Battle of Belleau Wood during World War I and is a fictional account of a truce called on Christmas among British, French and German soldiers. The song is narrated by a soldier lying in a trench who hears a German soldier begin to sing “Silent Night,” joining in along with the rest of the men on the battlefield in a moment of peace before the fighting resumed the next morning.

Many fans watching the show were equally moved by the moment, with several people using Twitter to express their emotions.

After his performance, Brooks shared that he “loves” the message of the song. “It’s so pretty … And when you’re sitting there going, ‘Here’s hoping we both live to see us find a better way,’” he said.

Ahead of the show, fans were able to request songs for the couple to perform using the hashtag #GarthandTrishaLIVE. Other songs the couple performed featured holiday classics including “Silent Night,” “Feliz Navidad,” “O Holy Night” as well as newer songs like Dolly Parton‘s “Hard Candy Christmas.”

Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event was Yearwood and Brooks’ second CBS special this year, after they scored their first broadcast earlier this year after one of their weekly Facebook Live shows briefly crashed the website.