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.
Lady May
Tyler Childers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm a good walk to the river
When my workin' day is over
We'll go swim our cares away
Put your toes down in the water
And a smile across your face
And tell me that you love me
Lovely, Lady May
Now I ain't the sharpest chisel
That your hands have ever held
But, darlin', I could love you well
Til' the roll is called on high
I've seen my share of trouble
And I've held my weight in shame
But I'm baptized in your name
Lovely, Lady May
Lord, the wind can leave you shiverin'
As it waltzes o'er the leaves
It's been rushin' through my timber
Til' your love brought on the spring
Now the mountains all are blushin'
And they don't know what to say
'Cept a good long line of praises
For my lovely, Lady May
Now, I ain't the toughest hickory
That your ax has ever felt
But I'm a hickory just as well
I'm a hickory all the same
I came crashin' through the forest
As you cut my roots away
And I fell a good long ways
For my lovely, Lady May
Tyler Childers's song Lady May is a love song that speaks to the depth of a man's love for a woman, using nature as a lens to describe the emotion. The lyrics start with the singer talking about his proximity to the mill and the river, describing his workday and how he plans to spend the evening with his lady. He says they will go for a swim to wash their troubles away and put a smile on her face, which would make him very happy. The man then acknowledges that he may not be the finest or smartest man around, but he is willing to love her as much as he can, even beyond death's final call. He confesses to having made mistakes in the past but has now committed his life to her, with his baptismal being a public testament.
Then Childers draws a comparison between the wind, the trees, and his love. The wind may have been brutal and cold before, but it is now warm, rejuvenating, and inviting. The trees that shake from the wind, unaware of what to say, offer a praising tribute to the woman that makes everything right in the singer's world. Finally, the singer compares himself to a tree, admitting that he was readily cut down when he met his love. But even as a fallen, lowly hickory, he is still the same as the proudest of the forest.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a stone's throw from the mill
I live close to the mill.
And I'm a good walk to the river
I'm a bit of a distance away from the river.
When my workin' day is over
When I finish work for the day.
We'll go swim our cares away
We'll take a refreshing swim to release our worries.
Put your toes down in the water
Dip your toes in the cool water.
And a smile across your face
With a big grin on your face.
And tell me that you love me
Express your love for me.
Lovely Lady May
My beautiful Lady May.
Now I ain't the sharpest chisel
I'm not the brightest tool in the shed.
That your hands have ever held
That you've worked with before.
But darlin' I could love you well
But I could love you very deeply.
Til' the roll is called on high
Until the day I die.
I've seen my share of trouble
I've experienced my fair amount of difficulty.
And I've held my weight in shame
And I've felt the burden and embarrassment of my actions.
But I'm baptized in your name
But your love has cleansed me and given me new life.
Lord the wind can leave you shiverin'
The wind can be quite chilling.
As it waltzes o'er the leaves
As it dances over the leaves.
It's been rushin' through my timber
The wind has been blowing through the trees in my area.
Til' your love brought on the spring
Until your love brought me new life and happiness.
Now the mountains all are blushin'
The mountains are all bright and beautiful.
And they don't know what to say
They are at a loss for words.
'Cept a good long line of praises
Except to sing out their praise for you.
For my lovely Lady May
For my beautiful Lady May.
Now I ain't the toughest hickory
I'm not the strongest or toughest person around.
That your ax has ever felled
That your axe has cut down.
But I'm a hickory just as well
But I'm still strong and resilient.
I'm a hickory all the same
I'm still a strong and solid person.
I came crashin' through the forest
When I was cut down, I came down with a hard thud.
As you cut my roots away
As you took away my foundation and support.
And I fell a good long ways
I fell a great distance.
For my lovely Lady May
All for the love of my beautiful Lady May.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Tyler Childers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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