Ryan Bingham’s new single from his upcoming album begins with memories of being a scared child and ends with advice for standing one’s ground. The new song, “Wolves,” appears on his upcoming album, American Love Song. With the song appearing on an album about America, one cannot help wondering if the song is about the current state of affairs in the country. After telling about learning as a child to keep the wolves at bay, the singer recounts a lesson that is coming now from a younger generation.
Years have gone by,
And the callin’ carries on;
Scars above my eye,
Are tender to the bone;
And though I’ve settled down,
I hear the children say,
“You have to stand your ground
And keep the wolves at bay.”
There are other types of wolves humans have to keep at bay too. Another interpretation is that the song is about struggling with addiction. A great song often leaves much of the interpretation to the listener, so listen for yourself.
Through interviews, Bingham provides a little more insight into the song, consistent with both interpretations above. He explained to Billboard that the song is about “the constant effort of fighting the darkness.” And he recounted examples of standing up to bullies and fighting substance abuse. But additionally, he explained that the song was inspired by the March for Our Lives students who stood up to social media attacks while they were fighting for gun control in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. He added, “The courage of these kids was inspiring to me.”
Ryan Bingham remains a wonderful talent, even though many do not recognize his name. Yet, he won the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy for his fantastic song, “The Weary Kind.” The song appeared in Crazy Heart (2009), and probably helped win Jeff Bridges the Oscar too.
But Bingham has recorded several albums, and it is worth delving deeper into his catalog. And it sounds like American Love Song is something to look forward to. American Love Song hits stores and the Internet on February 15, 2019.
