Tyler Childers, In Your Love | Track Review

Kentucky country singer/songwriter Tyler Childers delivers a tour de force with his moving, love-driven ballad, “In Your Love.”

“It’s a long hard war / Ah, but I can grin and bear it,” Kentucky country singer/songwriter Tyler Childers sings, continuing, “‘Cause I know what the hell I’m fightin’ for / And I will wait for you.” Mr. Childers wows on “In Your Love”, the promo single from his 2023 album, Rustin’ In The Rain (arrives September 8, 2023).  As the keyword of this gorgeous ballad suggests, LOVE is the big takeaway. Childers wrote “In Your Love” with Geno Seale.  The protagonist is willing to fight for love – give his all for the person he loves (“You’re the finest thing around / So I will stand my ground”).

Tyler Childers absolutely slaughters – in the best way possible.  His voice is marvelous as he sings expressively, in nuanced fashion.  The authenticity that he performs with truly makes the listener buy what he is selling. The chorus, of course, is the centerpiece – the crème de la crème:

“We were never made to run forever

We were just meant to go long enough

To find what we were chasin’ after

I believe I found it here

In your love.”

Oh, that so beautiful! A piano ballad initially, the instrumentation expands on “In Your Love” to include an idiomatic country sound palette including guitars (acoustic and electric), banjo, pedal steel, and double bass.  With the excellence of the song firmly established lyrically, musically, and vocally, the bold, stunning music video deserves mention. With a gay love story between two miners, the narrative perfectly parallels the songwriting. Haynes told Ann Powers of NPR he was inspired to do the music video by his older cousin, who is gay. The music video stars openly gay actors Colton Haynes and James Scully, while the story was written by Kentucky author Silas House and his husband, journalist/author Jason Kyle Howard.  Honestly, the video, which shows a marvelous love story, but ends sadly , is refreshing from country music, particularly following a certain controversial country song about a small town.  All told, Tyler Childers has easily delivered one of the very best songs of 2023. “In Your Love” is a perfect example of putting more acceptance, love, and respect in the world rather than judgement.

Tyler Childers • Rustin’ In The Rain • Hickman Holler / RCA • 9.8.23

[: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Hickman Holler / RCA; OpenClipart-Vectors, PIRO from Pixabay]