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.
White House Road
Tyler Childers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Layin' in the bed with bloodshot eyes
Late in the evenin' when the sun sinks low
Well that's about time my rooster crows
I got women up and down this creek
And they keep me going and my engine clean
Run me ragged but I don't fret
'Cause there ain't been one slow me down none yet
Get me drinking' that moonshine
Get me higher than the grocery bill
Take my troubles to the highwall
Throw'em in the river and get your fill
We been sniffing that cocaine
Ain't nothin' better when the wind cuts cold
Lord it's a mighty hard livin'
But a damn good feelin' to run these roads
I got people try to tell me, Red
Keep this livin' and you'll wind up dead
Cast your troubles on the Lord of Lord's
Or wind up laying on a coolin' board
But I got buddies up White House Road
And they keep me strutting when my feet hang low
Rotgut whiskey gonna ease my pain
And all this running's gonna keep me sane
Get me drinkin' that moonshine
Get me higher than the grocery bill
Take my troubles to the highwall
Throw'em in the river and get your fill
We been sniffing that cocaine
Ain't nothin' better when the wind cuts cold
Lord it's a mighty hard livin'
But a damn good feelin' to run these roads
It's a damn good feelin' to run these roads
When you lay me in the cold hard clay
Won't ya sing them hymns while the banjo plays
You can tell them ladies that they ought not frown
'Cause there ain't been nothing ever held me down
Lawmen, women or a shallow grave
Same ol' blues just a different day
Get me drinking' that moonshine
Get me higher than the grocery bill
Take my troubles to the highwall
Throw'em in the river and get your fill
We been sniffing that cocaine
Ain't nothin' better when the wind cuts cold
Lord it's a mighty hard livin'
But a damn good feelin' to run these roads
It's a damn good feelin' to run these roads
It's a damn good feelin' to run these roads
The song "White House Road" by Tyler Childers takes the listener on a journey through the life of a man who lives a hard and fast lifestyle fueled by moonshine, cocaine, and the thrill of hitting the road. The lyrics paint a picture of a man who wakes up early in the morning and stays up late into the night, with bloodshot eyes and a rooster that crows at just the right moment. He has women up and down the creek who keep him going, but he doesn't let them slow him down.
The chorus of the song suggests that the singer turns to moonshine and cocaine to escape from the troubles of his life. He's been running hard for a long time, but it's a "damn good feeling" to keep on going. The lyrics hint that there are people in his life who disapprove of his lifestyle and warn him that it could lead him to an early grave, but he's not deterred.
Line by Line Meaning
Early in the morning when the sun does rise
At the crack of dawn, when the sun appears on the horizon
Layin' in the bed with bloodshot eyes
After a wild night, waking up with red and tired eyes
Late in the evenin' when the sun sinks low
As the sun sets and darkness creeps in
Well that's about time my rooster crows
Just as the sun sets, the rooster crows signalling the start of the night
I got women up and down this creek
There are many women who keep me company along this creek
And they keep me going and my engine clean
These women keep me running and rejuvenate me when I'm in low spirits
Run me ragged but I don't fret
Even though they exhaust me, I don't worry too much
'Cause there ain't been one slow me down none yet
None of these women has stopped or slowed me down
Get me drinking' that moonshine
Pour me a glass of illegal whiskey to get me started
Get me higher than the grocery bill
Make me soar higher than what I can normally achieve
Take my troubles to the highwall
Let's take my problems to the place where I feel secure
Throw'em in the river and get your fill
Let's throw them into the river and forget about them
We been sniffing that cocaine
We've been using drugs to keep us running and feeling high
Ain't nothin' better when the wind cuts cold
There's nothing else that feels better when it's cold and windy outside
Lord it's a mighty hard livin'
This is a tough and challenging way of life
But a damn good feelin' to run these roads
But it's still an exhilarating experience to travel these routes
I got people try to tell me, Red
People often advise me against this way of life
Keep this livin' and you'll wind up dead
They warn me that continuing to live like this will kill me eventually
Cast your troubles on the Lord of Lord's
Place your worries on the divine being who is above all others
Or wind up laying on a coolin' board
Otherwise, I'll end up on a stretcher in a mortuary
But I got buddies up White House Road
Despite the warnings, I have companions on this path who keep me going
And they keep me strutting when my feet hang low
They motivate and inspire me when I'm feeling low or exhausted
Rotgut whiskey gonna ease my pain
Cheap and low-quality whiskey will help me forget my pain for a while
And all this running's gonna keep me sane
This constant movement and running will preserve my mental sanity
When you lay me in the cold hard clay
When I'm finally buried in the soil
Won't ya sing them hymns while the banjo plays
Please sing some religious songs while someone plays the banjo
You can tell them ladies that they ought not frown
You can relay to those women that they shouldn't be sorry about me
'Cause there ain't been nothing ever held me down
Because nothing has ever stopped me in my tracks
Lawmen, women or a shallow grave
Whether it's the police, women, or death in a shallow grave
Same ol' blues just a different day
I'll face the same problems and sadness every day, no matter where I am
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Tyler Childers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@aaronapostol7465
I don't always listen to Tyler Childers, but when I do, so do my neighbors.
@OurVinyl
You're a great neighbor.
@danedonovan5787
Tyler Childers is so good and raw man. I am a huge fan. https://youtu.be/nWpwnKcJzrY I also dig this guy Brett McDaniel. He isn't well known and I think he plays out of The Alabama area. So good man. ahahah Aaron
@Cherry-ei7rq
@@OurVinyl yea, it’s high time I introduced Tyler Childers to my neighbors!
@rebeccariley5357
Our neighbors listen to him almost nightly. Lol
@rdean45acp
Hell yuh my guy!
@HipixOFFICIAL
I really appreciate how he doesn’t fake the accent like most country singers do. THIS is what a country accent sounds like.
@OscarDeltaSierra
I’ve only known a few guys with this accent during my time in the service; all of them were from Kentucky, too.
@marguerilla
@@OscarDeltaSierra100%. kentucky accent is supreme, and i say that as a southerner from another state lol
@thomasdickson166
The reason Tyler isn’t taking over the country charts is what’s wrong in this country