Tyler Childers has a way with crafting some of the best country songs on the planet… then never releasing them on an album.
When it comes time to put together a record, Timmy Tyler Childers becomes very selective with what’s included. That’s a testament to the legendary albums that he’s already put out in his career, like Country Squire and Purgatory. He hails from the hills of Eastern Kentucky, and he’s helping to keep both the bluegrass and Appalachian sound alive. I say that only to make this point: Tyler Childers is very specific with what he does as an artist, yet he appeals to the masses.
It’s a really interesting situation that – as I sit here right now – I simply cannot compare to anyone else in music.
The authenticity of Childers’ catalogue helps draw in fans even without getting mainstream attention. And it’s his stellar songwriting and signature, Appalachian twang that makes the Tyler Childers faithful that much more faithful. People that love Tyler Childers are always waiting for new music from the Kentucky native, and I think that’s why his unreleased music collection has a life of its own online.
One song that never made it to an album is a little love ballad called “Redneck Romeo.” It’s believed that Childers penned this one sometime in his early career when he was driving from his hometown of Lawrence County, Kentucky to the “big city” of Lexington to play shows. And fans online speculate that the woman this song is written about is the same fling that his other unreleased song “Jersey Giant” focuses on.
The opening verses of the track make it pretty clear that he was singing about driving back and forth from Lawrence and Lexington:
“Lexington’s a city
But it ain’t so big it freaks me out
And if I need a breather I can hit the parkway
Be home before the bars all close
And drink away the lies she told
And think about the days”
There’s a theory that both “Redneck Romeo” and “Jersey Giant” never saw the light of day (at least on an album) because they were written about someone other than Childers’ wife, Senora May. And if that’s the case, I don’t blame Childers. After all, I’d probably take “Lady May” over any of his unreleased material.
That being said, the chorus of “Redneck Romeo” is Timmy at his best, and it told the story of some immature, young love that we can all assume had some real life inspiration:
“She was a few rides shy of rodeo queen
High school lovin’ in a badass Jeep
Far from the eyes of a watchful town
Her mama didn’t need to know
Good corn liquor to shake this cold
And good hot lovin’ on a gravel road
Juliet, won’t you crawl outside your window
And dance in the arms of your redneck Romeo?”
Sometimes a song is just meant to be a free agent, you know? Would having an official studio recording of “Redneck Romeo” help or hurt the song’s legacy? I’d argue that the secretive, exists-only-on-the-internet nature of the song only helps the lore. And most importantly, a great song will always find a way into the ears (and stuck in the heads) of music fans.
And I’d say that “Redneck Romeo” undoubtedly deserves to be categorized as great, even if it never made it onto an album: