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.
The Harvest
Tyler Childers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When my soul sinks slowly into the warm pits of hell
Won't you tell my baby sister that I'll be back in the fall
Cause it's better to have false hope than no help at all
And I'll be meeting with my savior to go over my foolish deeds
When he asks me why I did it lord I'll blame it on the seed
Cause it didn't grow in like I planned and when it did it all went dry
And I couldn't stand to hear the pain of a small baby crying
And I wondered when the good lord would take my soul away
Well I wonder if he planned it to happen like this at all
With the shot heard halfway cross the world and my sins on the wall
And I'll be meeting with my savior to go over my foolish deeds
When he asks me why I did it lord I'll blame it on the seed
Cause it didn't grow in like I planned and when it did it all went dry
And I couldn't stand to hear the pain of a small baby crying
And they'll tell me I'm a bad man but they never seen the sight of a baby wailing in it's crib and ripping apart the night
Is a small baby crying
The lyrics of Tyler Childers's song "The Harvest" describe the thoughts and feelings of a person who is on the verge of death. The first two lines refer to a suicide - the trigger has been pulled and the bullet is on its way to the person's head. They are about to sink into hell, and they are thinking about their sister. They know that their death will cause her great pain, so they want her to believe that they'll be back in the fall. However, they do not believe it themselves - they just want to give their sister some false hope to cling onto.
In the second verse, the person reflects on their life and the mistakes they have made. They know that they will be meeting with their savior soon, so they try to think of excuses for their sins. They blame it on the seed - the circumstances that made them act the way they did. They mention a small baby crying - an image that is clearly haunting them. They wonder if their death was pre-ordained, or if it was just a coincidence that it happened in the midst of a global conflict.
Overall, the song is a powerful meditation on life, death, and the choices we make. It shows how much regret and sorrow a person can feel at the end of their life, and how they try to justify their actions to themselves and others. It is a poignant reminder to all of us to live our lives with intention and purpose, and to always think about the impact of our actions on others.
Line by Line Meaning
When the triggers moving backwards and the pin hits the shell
As the gun goes off, and the bullet leaves the chamber
When my soul sinks slowly into the warm pits of hell
When I feel consumed by guilt and regret, as if I'm headed towards damnation
Won't you tell my baby sister that I'll be back in the fall
Please reassure my sibling that I will return after the harvest season
Cause it's better to have false hope than no help at all
It's preferable to provide comfort and positivity, even if it's not entirely genuine
And I'll be meeting with my savior to go over my foolish deeds
I anticipate facing divine judgement and being held accountable for my mistakes
When he asks me why I did it lord I'll blame it on the seed
I'll attempt to place responsibility on external factors beyond my control
Cause it didn't grow in like I planned and when it did it all went dry
The crops didn't thrive as I had hoped, and ultimately withered away
And I couldn't stand to hear the pain of a small baby crying
The sound of an infant in distress was unbearable to me
Well I remember in the graveyards well I used to read the names
I recall visiting cemeteries and examining the headstones
And I wondered when the good lord would take my soul away
I pondered when I might die and face judgement before God
Well I wonder if he planned it to happen like this at all
I question whether my current situation is part of a divine plan
With the shot heard halfway cross the world and my sins on the wall
As violence erupts in distant lands, I'm forced to confront the consequences of my actions
And they'll tell me I'm a bad man but they never seen the sight of a baby wailing in it's crib and ripping apart the night
Others may judge me harshly, but they cannot imagine the emotional toll of witnessing a suffering child
Is a small baby crying
The distress of an innocent infant is a recurring motif throughout the song, representing a deeply felt emotional burden on the singer
Writer(s): Timothy Tyler Childers
Contributed by Evelyn W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jeremy
on Honky Tonk Flame
Burning my barn in this honky tonk flame. What does this mean?
Catherine
on Deadman's Curve
Love this song. So raw.
Mike oxlong
on Good Thing Windin' Down
Gotta love it
Douglas Luedeman
on Charleston Girl
He left his money with a thrash grass band.