'Keeps Me Sane' by Tyler Nance - Lyrics & Meaning

Hailing from Missouri, Tyler Nance’s rise to country success has been a very quick one–his first single released only a year ago in August 2024.

Establishing his name and presence on the scene, Nance’s latest release, ‘Keeps Me Sane,’ went viral on TikTok before it was even released, forcing the upcoming singer-songwriter to alter the original release date and give us the full version of the emotional track earlier than planned.

Although released in mid-July, it took only a month for Nance’s streams to reach into the millions; it’s undeniable that the Missouri native is one to watch.

Alongside the viral moment that ‘Keeps Me Sane’ has been having, fans are diving into the impressive work that Nance has released over the last year including his latest EP titled I’m Not Him.

Although a new member of the country community, Nance has already established his “classic” sound.

As ‘Keep Me Sane’ kicks off with a fiddle and some strong drumbeats driving the rhythm, the introduction isn’t long before his raw vocals launch a vulnerable story of self reflection, anxiety and struggle. As the track progresses, an acoustic guitar and some classic country picking add to the sonic layers before a confident fiddle solo soars across the song.

With such a gritty sound and honest lyrics, ‘Keep Me Sane’ is reminiscent of Tyler Childers, with the country prodigy-like youth of Wyatt Flores or Dylan Gossett.

"Crows are laughing while I'm drowning in the summer heat
Nickajacks and psilocybin with the maple leaf
Sugarcoats an evil world and my sobriety
I'd be better with you next to me”

The vulnerable song sets the scene of some stormy, conflicting thoughts and immediately lets us in on the inner-workings of this individual's mind. Sometimes it feels like the world moves on around us, yet we can’t escape what's circling around our mind.

Moving from the heat of the summer to the maple leaves in the autumn, the passing of time doesn't always correlate with the passing of personal struggles. Nance sings about being in the “nickajacks”–the rugged hills of Appalachia–and turning to “psilocybin,” the chemical compound found in psychedelic magic mushrooms, in order to find an escape.

Yet, whether it’s the power of nature or the power of drugs, those distractions are really just sugarcoating the struggles underneath.

However, it could be that reaching out to a certain person is the key to battling the loneliness this protagonist is feeling or maybe it’s just one more distraction.

“I work and ponder waiting for a little bit of rain
But I'm flooded like the water in a window pane
Taken over by the mullin' goin' in my brain
Might sound crazy but it keeps me sane”

Aware of his pain and the struggles he’s facing, this character has been trying to think things through, to work through the overwhelming thoughts that are plaguing his mind and hoping for “a little bit of rain” to clear some of them up. However, once you start to dig into difficult thoughts, it’s not always easy to make them stop and it feels like you’re being “flooded.”

As with the cyclical nature of the entire song, this verse is also structured in a way that loops back around–sometimes it’s the things that we think will heal us that can just make us hurt more.

“Don't know why I feel this way
I get high on the pain
Look to the sky, I'm to blame
You might hate me and it might sound crazy
But it keeps me sane”

The hard hitting chorus reminds us of the fact that sometimes it’s the things that hurt us most, that can also offer comfort or a "way out" from our own minds.

Although the protagonist is aware that they’re the one to blame, and perhaps the people that surround them aren’t always in support of their habits, for some reason, those habits are the key to calming an overwhelming mind.

“Under the weather while I'm wandering walking up the creek
Waters rushing like it's trying to get away from me
This dream I'm chasing's gonna drive me to insanity
It might sound crazy but it keeps me sane”

Sticking to the same theme of nature, people often find comfort in the outside world, but even being in the peace and quiet of the mountain creeks, this character’s mind doesn’t stop moving.

Whether that dream be like the music career that Nance himself is venturing out on or perhaps something else it’s a dream that needs chasing, even if to the point of insanity.

But once again coming full circle, as difficult as the chase can be, it’s what keeps them moving forwards.

Tyler Nance has been regularly posting on social media around the release of ‘Keeps Me Sane’ including “daily reminders” and fun Instagram reels celebrating the hit song.

Nance has also made appearances on the Coda Country Chats podcast and "rural America’s most important network" RFD-TV where he spoke about his new viral track.

Crows are laughing while I'm drowning in the summer heat
Nickajacks and psilocybin with the maple leaf
Sugarcoats an evil world and my sobriety
I'd be better with you next to me

I work and ponder waiting for a little bit of rain
But I'm flooded like the water in a window pane
Taken over by the mullin' goin' in my brain
Might sound crazy but it keeps me sane

Don't know why I feel this way
I get high on the pain
Look to the sky, I'm to blame
You might hate me and it might sound crazy
But it keeps me sane

50/50 but you take the other half of me
In a world that's overtaken by the reverie
Losing sleep from overthinking, oh the irony
Might sound crazy but it keeps me sane

Don't know why I feel this way
I get high on the pain
Look to the sky, I'm to blame
You might hate me and it might sound crazy
But it keeps me sane

Under the weather while I'm wandering walking up the creek
Waters rushing like it's trying to get away from me
This dream I'm chasing's gonna drive me to insanity
It might sound crazy but it keeps me sane

Don't know why I feel this way
I get high on the pain
Look to the sky, I'm to blame
You might hate me and it might sound crazy
But it keeps me sane

But it keeps me sane
Yeah, it keeps me sane

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