Link copied
Ernest only dropped his much-loved Two Dozen Roses deluxe album in February, but it seems his mind has excitingly already turned towards the prospect of new music.
On Wednesday, May 10 he released a brand new song written for his wife, Delaney Royer, entitled ‘Takes After You’.
The endearing track pays tribute to the way Delaney serves as the perfect role model for their son, Ryman, and finds Ernest stepping out of the whiskey-splattered shoes of the heartbroken, hopeless romantic that led Flower Shops (The Album): Two Dozen Roses.
When he first teased the song last month, Ernest accompanied the new song clip with a moving video of him, Ryman and Delaney spending time together, along with a series of touching messages expressing how much his wife means to him.
Ernest wrote, “She is the most humble, kind, empathetic, nature loving, giving, selfless and downright WHOLESOME human I know. The things she’ll teach Ryman in this life by her actions will transcend anything he’ll learn in a building”. He then went on to underline the importance of faith to the message of the new song, “That being said, I want to instill in him a KNOWING of God and the importance of gratitude and faith… My wild side has won too many times and I hope by my mistakes I can help him avoid some… but like the song says… If he don’t take after Jesus, I hope he takes after YOU”.
Ernest explained that the song was inspired by a famous moment where someone quipped to Johnny Cash, “Johnny, I've known you a long time...and I've got a son now, and if he don't take after Jesus, I'd be quite alright if he took after you”.
Ernest incorporates this line into ‘Takes After You’, during which he sings lovingly about Delaney about her relationship with their son, “Though he might not live by Your red letters / Something close to that'll do / If he don't take after Jesus / I hope he takes after you”.
Delaney Royer often joins the ‘Miss That Girl’ hitmaker on the road, and as a photographer and graphic designer, she regularly drives the creative direction behind Ernest's album artwork and tour photography.
Although Ernest's stormy, lovelorn Flower Shops era has undoubtedly proved to be his most successful yet, this apparent return to the sweet, rose-tinted lens of his debut project, Locals Only, will no doubt be welcomed by long-term fans of the chart-topping songsmith.
With the US’ Mother's Day around the corner, it seems Ernest has dropped ‘Takes After You’ at the perfect time.
Ernest is currently enjoying a lengthened hiatus from supporting Morgan Wallen on his 2023 One Night At A Time world tour, which is set to resume on June 22, providing Wallen is cleared from voice rest by his team of doctors. On May 9, the Sneedville megastar confirmed that he'd be postponing all shows for the next six weeks as he begins his recovery, after re-injuring his vocal chords during a weekend of shows in Florida.
Later in the year, Ernest is embarking on his headlining 2023 This Fire tour, with dates lined up across the Fall in Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Los Angeles, Illinois, Tennessee and more.
For more on Ernest, see below:
