Tyler Childers was born and raised in Lawrence County, Kentucky. His father worked in the coal industry and his mother is a nurse. He learned singing in church where he sang in the church choir. He started to play guitar and write songs when he was around 13. He moved from Lawrence County to Paintsville, Kentucky, where he attended Paintsville High School and graduated in 2009. Fellow country musicians Chris Stapleton and Loretta Lynn (Van Lear, KY) also hail from Paintsville. He studied for a semester at Western Kentucky University, and enrolled at Bluegrass Community and Technical College for a few semesters. He dropped out of college and did odd jobs for some time while pursuing a music career.
Childers began performing in Lexington, Kentucky and Huntington, West Virginia. In 2011, when he was 19, Childers released his first album, Bottles And Bibles. He has also released two EPs recorded in 2013 at Red Barn Radio, a radio show from Lexington. The two EPs were later released as one after the success of his album Purgatory, and reached No. 5 on Heatseekers Albums.
He had his first success with Purgatory, a breakthrough album released on August 4, 2017. The album was produced by Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson and recorded at The Butcher Shoppe in Nashville. Simpson also played guitar and sang backing vocals on the album, with Miles Miller on drums, Stuart Duncan on fiddle and Russ Paul on other instruments. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, No. 17 on the Country albums chart and No. 4 on the Americana/Folk albums chart. In September 2018, Childers won Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Honors & Awards, where he gave an acceptance speech noted for its criticism of the Americana genre label, saying that "as a man who identifies as a country music singer, I feel Americana ain't no part of nothing and is a distraction from the issues that we're facing on a bigger level as country music singers. It kind of feels like purgatory."
Country Squire, a second album under the Hickman Holler label, and Childers' third overall, was released on August 2, 2019, after being announced in May 2019. This album was again produced by Simpson and Ferguson. The video of the lead single from the album "House Fire" was also released on May 16, 2019.
Childers' music is influenced by his home state of Kentucky and its connection to country music and bluegrass. He often writes about coal mining, which was his father's occupation, and its effects. Rebecca Bengal, writing for The Guardian, described Childers' songs as a "counternarrative to the outsiders who seek to perpetuate stereotypes of backwardness and poverty." Childers emphasizes lyrical content in songs, comparing the songwriting process to telling short stories.
Charleston Girl
Tyler Childers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you don't know her like I do
We took the fire escape to her room
And got stoned, ragin blind
Left my money in the trustin hands
Of them ol steel brothers and fast crash band
One day I'm gonna drive up there and give them half my mind
She's workin hard to make some sense, but she ain't got a dime
I wish to god that I could help her out
I wish I knew what she was talkin bout
I wish to god that I could get away, but I'm way too drunk to drive
--
All I know is that when I am good and sober
I am leaving West Virginia for a while
don't know why but every time I cross that river
Lord, there's somethin tears me up,
Makes me wild
Charleston girl with raven hair, bloodshot eyes and skin so fair
I believe if I could find my keys Id try to drive away
I never planned to leave so soon
I didn't know that he was sweet on you
Go ahead and take her
Cause she ain't worth the time
--
All I know is that when I am good and sober
I am leaving West Virginia for a while
don't know why but every time I cross that river
Lord, there's somethin tears me up,
Makes me wild
The song "Charleston Girl" is a representation of the aftermath of a wild and indulgent night. The singer opens up the song by describing a darkened room inhabited by a Charleston girl, whom he claims no one knows like he does. The two of them had taken the fire escape to her room and indulged in drugs, which may explain her inability to speak coherently due to her being on wine or coke. Despite her state, the singer wishes he could help her out, but he is too drunk to drive. He imagines a world where he could understand what she is saying and escape to even though every time he crosses the river, something tears him apart.
The second part of the song takes a different turn from the first verse. The singer acknowledges that he is leaving West Virginia for a while and that every time he crosses the river, he is wild and torn. The thoughts of the Charleston girl and the indulgent night are stripped away, and he is now leaving to a new place. He mentions the girl one last time before saying that she can have her because she isn't worth his time.
Line by Line Meaning
Charleston girl in a darkened room
The girl he's talking about is in a dimly lit room and likely struggling with something.
And you don't know her like I do
He shares a closer relationship with her compared to others.
We took the fire escape to her room
He snuck into her room through the fire escape.
And got stoned, ragin blind
They got high and were heavily affected by it.
Left my money in the trustin hands
He left his money with reliable people.
Of them ol steel brothers and fast crash band
These people are either his friends or acquaintances and they are steel workers and musicians.
One day I'm gonna drive up there and give them half my mind
He's going to go see them and confront them about something.
I don't know if it's the wine or the coke that makes her sound like her jaw is broke
He's not sure if her slurred speech is due to alcohol or drugs.
She's workin hard to make some sense, but she ain't got a dime
She's trying her best to convey her thoughts, but she doesn't have much money.
I wish to god that I could help her out
He wishes he could do something to help her.
I wish I knew what she was talkin bout
He's having trouble understanding what she's saying.
I wish to god that I could get away, but I'm way too drunk to drive
He wants to leave, but he's too intoxicated to drive.
All I know is that when I am good and sober
When he's not under the influence, his thoughts and feelings become clearer.
I am leaving West Virginia for a while
He plans on leaving the state for a little while.
don't know why but every time I cross that river
He's not sure why, but every time he crosses the river, he feels a certain way.
Lord, there's somethin tears me up,
Something about the river causes him emotional pain.
Makes me wild
It drives him crazy.
Charleston girl with raven hair, bloodshot eyes and skin so fair
The girl he's talking about has black hair, red eyes, and pale skin.
I believe if I could find my keys Id try to drive away
If he can find his car keys, he'll attempt to leave quickly.
I never planned to leave so soon
He didn't think he'd leave as soon as he is now.
I didn't know that he was sweet on you
He didn't realize that someone else had feelings for her.
Go ahead and take her
He's giving up on pursuing her.
Cause she ain't worth the time
He's decided that she's not worth his effort and time.
Contributed by Dylan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Douglas Luedeman
He left his money with a thrash grass band.