Garth Brooks: What He Said After Rosalynn Carter’s Memorial
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed at the public memorial service in Atlanta for Rosalynn Carter, who passed away on November 19 at her home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96.
Dressed in black, with Garth in a suit and Trisha in a black dress, the couple quietly walk onto the church stage, and Brooks got a capo out of his pocket and put it on his guitar. He began to play, and with just a guitar behind her, Trisha starts singing the John Lennon song “Imagine.”
With five First Ladies and two former Presidents, including 99-year-old Jimmy Carter, watching them, Yearwood sings the song with Garth on the chorus.
After the public service, Brooks said, “What I loved the most about Miss Rosalynn’s service is that every living First Lady showed up no matter what political party, no matter what time or era. Every First Lady showed up to pay their respects.”
He added solemnly, “To me, that says a ton about Miss Rosalynn and her wish for the future that we all come together.”
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Garth told us the day after (11/20) Rosalynn passed away, “This is gonna be tough. President Carter calls Miss Yearwood his second favorite, Georgia Peach, so all I can think about, like everyone else in this room, is President Carter. You don’t say one without the other.”
He searched for the words, adding, “It’s tough. Miss Yearwood called her (Rosalynn) a quiet warrior. If you ever got to hang around her, President Carter always steals the show, and then when it comes time to hear her speak, she will walk to the mic, and you watch her; she won’t say anything for a few seconds. That’s how she was.”
Brooks continued, “Then you just watch the crowd start to lean in, and then what she says is very quiet but yet very powerful. And what she taught Miss Yearwood and what she teaches us all: the lion doesn’t have to roar, and your statement doesn’t have to be more than a few words to get your point across. She was great at that, and everyone loved her for that.”
Garth noted, “A light has gone out that shines on how we should treat each other, but if we all pick that light up, maybe that light can grow instead of disappear.”
Mrs. Carter was married to Jimmy Carter for 77 years. Carter was the 39th president of the United States and the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He is now 99 years old. Mrs. Carter championed mental health, caregiving, and women’s rights.
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