Hilton moved to Los Angeles to launch himself as a musician. After releasing a self-titled independent CD, he signed to Warner Bros. imprint Maverick Records, which released his major-label debut The Tracks of Tyler Hilton the same year that Hilton made his acting debut starring as the musically talented but totally arrogant Chris Keller on the second season of One Tree Hill. Other roles followed, including playing Elvis Presley in the critically acclaimed Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, co-starring in the indie film Charlie Bartlett with Robert Downey Jr., and returning to One Tree Hill for its final season in 2012.
Yet while his cover songs appeared on the Grammy Award-winning Walk the
Line soundtrack and his Americana-flavored originals were featured on each
of One Tree Hill’s popular soundtracks, Hilton had yet to release another full- length album of his own. He recorded one, The Storms We Share, in the fall of 2010, but its release was thwarted by a shake-up in leadership at Warner Bros. “So much had gone down at the label and I just wasn’t up for going another round with them,” Hilton says. In December, he was released from his contract, with the label retaining the rights to The Storms We Share. “At that point, I was really down on the music industry,” he says. “I wasn’t even sure I wanted to make another album.”
But, being an artist, Hilton did what artists do and channeled all of his frustrated emotions into a batch of songs, the bulk of which make up his new album Forget the Storm, which Hilton has released on his own label, Hooptie Tune Records. “It was the first time in nine years that I was in a position to make music without asking anyone’s permission,” he says. The result is a spirited and engaging collection that finds Hilton finally representing who he truly is both personally and artistically.
What inspired Hilton to begin writing again was the sheer thrill of playing live. “I was booked to play a residency at the Hotel Cafe´ not long after leaving the label and I was not looking forward to it,” Hilton admits. “I thought, ‘I don't care if anyone comes, I’m only going to play music that I want to play, and if people don't like it, I've got one foot out the door anyway.’" He asked two of his friends, musician/songwriters Dave Hodges and Steve Miller, to join him. “I said, ‘I'm not going to pay anything, but if you guys want to have some drinks and mess around on stage, let's do it. I want to do a lot of covers; I want to do some blues songs."
The Hotel Cafe´ shows were packed each night. “We were doing Stones, Dylan, and Ryan Adams covers and lots of blues, and at the end of it I remembered that I love playing music,” Hilton says. “I thought if I’m ever going to do another record, it should have this vibe. What’s the worst that could happen? I had been playing by the rules and it hadn’t worked.”
Hilton began writing with Hodges (a songwriter who has worked with Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, and Christina Perri) and his guitarist Steve Miller, and over the course of a few months, came up with the songs on Forget the Storm — a title he calls “a direct reference to throwing away my last record and starting over, and also because it’s an album about leaving s**t behind.”
Lyrically, the album is an unflinchingly honest piece of work that finds Hilton reflecting on his relationship with himself, with his loved ones, and even with music — reveling in the good, owning up to the bad, and examining everything in between. “You could probably learn more about me by listening to this album than you could by talking to me for an hour,” he says. “It’s very personal and much closer to who I really am than what I’ve revealed in the past, but it's easier to write from that place when you have nothing left to lose.”
Fittingly, Forget the Storm opens with a song inspired by his heartbreak over the music industry: “Kicking My Heels,” which his fans went crazy over when he premiered it on an episode of One Tree Hill. “That song is the darkest part of the album for me because it’s reminder of how a lot of bad can come out of having time on your hands and not being sure of what you're going to go next. During the months before I started writing I had no focus. I felt rudder-less. The one good thing was having someone I loved in my life, which is what the song is about.” The album’s first single “Prince of Nothing Charming” finds Hilton trying to get to the heart of who he is in a relationship. “Sometimes I don't have it all together,” he admits. “I space out on things, I drink too much. There are a lot of things you could take aim at me for. But I’m drawn to the idea of a couple who really love one another despite all the cracks and flaws.” “Jenny” and “Can’t Stop
Now” also offer a realistic look at love and the compromises one makes, while “I Belong” is the antidote, describing how it feels to be in a relationship that truly works.
Though fans of Hilton’s strummy pop songs will find plenty to like on Forget the Storm, the album also charts new territory with two songs, the rockabilly- flavored, sexually charged “Loaded Gun” (which he wrote with country artist Deana Carter) and the untamed stomper “Ain’t No Foolin’ Me,” both of which Hilton is looking forward to playing live when he hits the road this year. “There are times when you just want to rock out onstage,” says Hilton, who has entertained audiences across the country both as a headliner and with such artists as Taylor Swift, Gavin DeGraw, and Goo Goo Dolls. “I play all kinds of styles of music in my show and the audiences seem to really love the rock and roll moments.”
Most of all, Hilton is excited to finally have a new full-length album for his fans who’ve stuck with him for so many years. “I kept giving them what I called half- assed EPs that were the best I could do in the situation I was at with Warner Bros.,” he says. “But with an album, you have a chance to change direction and try something new rather than perpetuating the sound you already have. This record was the first opportunity I had to say something different. It's a clean slate.”
Rollin' Home
Tyler Hilton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is fine west of here
Most folks are staying at home
If you want to come on
You better meet me there
Cause I've got some country to own
A big glass to let the sun in
And serve you in a real time movie
With the tracks point past the vulture
Straight out to counterculture
There's no other place to find me, then
On this rolling home
Time goes by so slow
I'd get off but it's my rolling home
The one of you gets in
Trouble right there
Is the other in chains by your side
But days have been lucky
There've been no cement floors
But don't bet it all we've got some time
Cause in the land of the moving suns
And moons that fly one by one
Provided shades don't shut against them
Cause in the mind of the sleepy eyed
And heavy armed and slumber tried
There's one spot never apprehensive
To go
On this rolling home
Time goes by so slow
I'd get off but it's my rolling home
Streaked streets all stand between
The fields that tuck you in
As you lay on a seat you claim to own
I'll never recall a single
Stranger friend
But inside I've never left my rolling home
So if your night's sleep's interrupted
Your sleep's dreams gets corrupted
By a steady rolling thunder
Or a day's drive gets delayed
A route you'd never take
>From now on you'll never have to wonder
On this rolling home
Time goes by so slow
I'd get off but it's my rolling home
On this rolling home
On this rolling home
On this rolling home
I roam
The lyrics in Tyler Hilton's "Rollin' Home" describe the freedom and comfort that comes with living life on the road. The song is an anthem for travelers, encouraging them to come along for the ride and discover the beauty of the countryside. The singer talks about the joy of driving along the highway with short stops made for running, where the sun shines in and the world becomes a real-time movie.
The song also underlines the struggles of being in a nomadic lifestyle, especially when it comes to the risks that come with staying on the wrong side of the law. One person's mistake can lead to both people suffering the consequences with both people ending up in chains together. The singer acknowledges that living on the road can be risky, and even dangerous, but ultimately, the fleeting moments of living life on the road are worth it. The song ends on a note of celebration, with the singer declaring that his rolling home is where he roams and that he wouldn't have it any other way.
Line by Line Meaning
Traveling Sunday
Starting on a Sunday is okay because most people tend to stay home.
Is fine west of here
Traveling towards the west is perfectly okay.
Most folks are staying at home
Most people are staying at home instead of travelling.
If you want to come on
If you want to join me on my journey,
You better meet me there
you need to meet me at a specific place.
Cause I've got some country to own
Because I have a lot of land to cover on this journey.
With the short stops made for runnin
We make quick stops for essentials.
A big glass to let the sun in
The windows of the vehicle are large and bring a lot of sunlight.
And serve you in a real time movie
Travel feels like being in a movie that's happening in real-time.
With the tracks point past the vulture
We travel on tracks that lead beyond death and decay.
Straight out to counterculture
We are travelling towards places that are different from the dominant cultures.
There's no other place to find me, then
I can only be found on this journey, nowhere else.
On this rolling home
The vehicle on which I am travelling is my home.
Time goes by so slow
Time passes by slowly when you're traveling.
I'd get off but it's my rolling home
I could leave, but I choose to stay on this vehicle because it's my home now.
The one of you gets in
If one of us gets into trouble,
Trouble right there
And if trouble arises,
Is the other in chains by your side
The other person will be there, standing by your side through thick and thin.
But days have been lucky
We've been fortunate enough to not have faced too many difficulties on this journey.
There've been no cement floors
We haven't had to spend too many nights in prison cells.
But don't bet it all we've got some time
But we shouldn't take it for granted as we still have a long journey ahead.
Cause in the land of the moving suns
In this land where the sun and moons move swiftly,
And moons that fly one by one
And we see moons moving, one after the other,
Provided shades don't shut against them
We can enjoy this beautiful spectacle as long as nothing hinders our view.
Cause in the mind of the sleepy eyed
For those who are sleepy,
And heavy armed and slumber tried
And those who are carrying heavy bags and tired,
There's one spot never apprehensive
There's one spot on this journey where they can relax and feel safe.
To go
And that is to stay on this rolling home.
Streaked streets all stand between
We see streets pass by,
The fields that tuck you in
But we also see fields that appear to be wrapping us in a blanket.
As you lay on a seat you claim to own
We sleep on seats that feel like they belong to us.
I'll never recall a single
I may not remember every single
Stranger friend
Stranger whom I befriended on this journey,
But inside I've never left my rolling home
But the one thing that's constant is that my home is always with me.
So if your night's sleep's interrupted
If your sleep gets interrupted at night,
Your sleep's dreams get corrupted
And your dreams are disturbed,
By a steady rolling thunder
Due to the sound of the wheels rolling continuously,
Or a day's drive gets delayed
Or we face a delay during the day's journey,
A route you'd never take
And we have to take a route we never thought of before,
>From now on you'll never have to wonder
You needn't worry anymore because
On this rolling home
We will always have our rolling home to fall back on.
Time goes by so slow
Time passes by ever so slowly on this journey.
I'd get off but it's my rolling home
I could leave this journey but I choose not to because it's home.
On this rolling home
This journey that we are on, which is also my home,
On this rolling home
This forever rolling home that I will always be on,
On this rolling home
This never static, always moving rolling home,
I roam
I wander and journey on it, never staying put in one place.
Contributed by Blake L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jaymin Ewens
This is a wonderful song. Perfect for the days I feel like outrunning my restlessness. Thanks for the song, Tyler.
tooutite
THIS SONG IS ONE OF MY FAVS !!! TYLER YOU ARE SO AMAZING !!! <33' thanks for all those WONDERFUL songs which just bring so much hapiness =)
twsrail
Rolling Home is my favorite song, and i love it! Can't wait for the new album!
bytesNsolder
one of my favorite moments in life, listening to this song while in the bus, looking at sceneries in the window
Kampam3
You are very awesome, love your voice!!! :)
Kim Eriksson
Love your music Tyler, amazing lyrics ! :) / Your biggest swedish fan !
Sam McDuffy
I love that voice!!
Lisa Trapp
I love this one. Great.
deesterD
beautiful!!! he's great and so is his band :)
brk men
great song! keep it up tyler ;)