American Sniper ballad reaches No 1 on country music chart

Just days after the man who shot and killed American Sniper subject Chris Kyle and his comrade Chad Littlefield was found guilty of murder, a tribute song recorded by one of Kyle’s own team-mates is taking the country by storm.

The song, Hearts I Leave Behind, was written by Travis Meadows (the soulful writer behind current hits Riser and What We Ain’t Got) and recorded by Kyle’s friend, former Navy Seal Pete Scobell. Scobell also enlisted Wynonna Judd to provide vocals to the ballad, which has quickly reached the No 1 spot on the iTunes country chart. “I’ll never have to say goodbye/I’ll live in the hearts I leave behind,” they sing tenderly over light acoustic instrumentation.

Kyle’s late wife, Taya, posted on his official Facebook page on Wednesday to announce the track. “On the Patriot Tour last year the crew on the bus included our good friend and Chris’s teammate Pete Scobell who was the musician on tour with us,” she wrote. “He played The Hearts I Leave Behind. With tears rolling down my face, I looked at Pete and said, ‘You have to record this song.’ This song is Chris. It is me. It is all the people who carry Chris in the hearts he left behind.”

All proceeds from the song are being donated to the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation, an organization whose goal is “to provide meaningful, interactive experiences to service members, first responders and their families, aimed at enriching their family relationships”.