‘Song While You're Away (From Twisters: The Album)’ by Tyler Childers - Lyrics and Meaning

When the compilation for the upcoming summer blockbuster Twisters was announced, the country music scene got itself all in a tizzy with the amount of massive stars of theirs they'd managed to convince to contribute.

Beloved hitmakers are found amongst exciting new creatives, with Luke Combs and Lainey Wilson rubbing shoulders with new faces Tucker Wetmore and Tanner Adell, creating a furious melting pot as strong as the storm the stars of the film face.

No contributor was perhaps more surprising than Kentucky's favourite son, Tyler Childers. Tyler's donation to the rather stacked compilation is also perhaps the most unique - an original live fan-favourite never before released on record, quickly making for one of the highlights of what was already becoming a high quality collection.

Releasing the song on Friday June 28, ahead of both the soundtrack and film's release in theaters on July 19, Childers has sat on the track for at least ten years, an unpolished gem in his repertoire that he's played live and in sessions since at least 2016.

The longest song across the compilation album by some margin, Childers does a magnificent job of building up the momentum across the track, slowly releasing the song's gorgeous energy for maximum wholesome effect.

Just as Childers himself has, the song has become refined and mature, the version we hear on the record evoking the present era of Childers rather than the one it was first conceived in.

Possessing the temperament of his Purgatory era but the warm, spacious production of Rustin In The Rain, 'Song While You're Away' casually blankets itself in an array of bright duelling guitars, cymbal heavy percussion and sparse, striking keys.

As the playful chime of instruments ring, the most pleasing sound of all is the overdubbed harmonies that Childers offers, backing himself up with a pleasing nudge as the song finds its final resting place.

A gorgeous poem of trials and tribulations, the song tells the story of a couple growing up, what they've fought for and where it got them after it all, a full circle tale of life and love.

“Up in your nephew's room playing on his cousin's guitar
I wrote a song for you
You have done drove off with everything I need
My box and my tumbleweed
I picked it up on the way to Flagstaff years ago
I was hanging on to everything you had the grace to show”

Nestled into an initial core memory of writing a song for the one he loves, Childers tells of the devotion and obsession he held, and how it all paled in comparison to the affection he felt. While the partner may have gone away and taken his voice ("my box") and his humility ("my tumbleweed") with them, it didn't matter - he would have them back when they reunited once more.

“You were young and you were hungry
Lord knows I was hungry too
We were both flat-out starving
For something worthwhile to lose
You were my bread and I was your honey
Up against the dark red wine
Trying to hold on to the lovely
Through the bitter of our times”

Childers suggests that, no matter the hurdles they faced and the battles they had to contend with in life, their unified determination to make something of themselves and find contentment in themselves and each other was what kept them both on the road to success.

“Looking over the hill at the lights of your hometown
I wrote this song for you
Thinking of the way we met
A girl home from school and a boy just passing through
I got a job as a cut man at a house just down the road
I had never been to town before and I didn't know a soul”

Remembering another core memory, Childers sings of the sacrifices we make in life and the comfort those who love us bring us in those moments. Despite not knowing anyone when he moved to town, he just so happened to meet the one person who mattered most. "Looking over the hill at the lights of your hometown", reigns as a trademark example of the evocative imagery the Kentucky native is able to conjure.

“Agate white wedding dress
Turquoise on your ring
Upright bass and violin
As you walk the aisle to me”

And with a simple verse, Childers brings the story full circle in such a beautifully unique and vivid way. As his bride walks towards him to tie the knot, we realise Childers has been relaying all the memories he's made with his wife-to-be, flashing by like a blur as everything they've worked towards finally comes to be.

“Up in your nephew's room playing on his cousin's guitar

I wrote a song for you

You have done drove off with everything I need

My box and my tumbleweed

-

I picked it up on the way to Flagstaff years ago

I was hanging on to everything you had the grace to show

-

You were young and you were hungry

Lord knows I was hungry too

We were both flat-out starving

For something worthwhile to lose

You were my bread and I was your honey

Up against the dark red wine

Trying to hold on to the lovely

Through the bitter of our times

-

Looking over the hill at the lights of your hometown

I wrote this song for you

Thinking of the way we met

A girl home from school and a boy just passing through

-

I got a job as a cut man at a house just down the road

I had never been to town before and I didn't know a soul

-

I was young and I was hungry

Lord knows you were hungry too

We were both flat-out starving

For something worthwhile to lose

You were my bread and I was your honey

Up against the dark red wine

Trying to hold on to the lovely

Through the bitter of our times

-

Agate white wedding dress

Turquoise on your ring

Upright bass and violin

As you walk the aisle to me

-

I was young and I was hungry

Lord knows you were hungry too

We were both flat-out starving

For something worthwhile to lose

You were my bread and I was your honey

Up against the dark red wine

Trying to hold on to the lovely

Through the bitter of our times”

For more on Tyler Childers, see below: