There seems to be a common consensus that these last few months of 2020 should be expedited—hurried through to get to a new, hopefully, more pleasant year. However, it’s not just the ever-tightening clutches of COVID-19 that have made this year, unfortunately, one for the history books. We are in the midst of a reality that has extended far before January 1 of this year and will continue to persist as an issue if effective justice is not taken—we are all witness to the overwhelming police brutality on Black Americans as demonstrated by the Black Lives Matter movement. We are living in an ever-lengthening chapter of what country singer and native Kentuckian, Tyler Childers describes as a “Long Violent History.”
“Long Violent History” is the closing track on Childers’ surprise album of the same name that was released on September 18. Intent on making an old school fiddle album that ties back to his Appalachian roots, this titular track is that and so much more. Not only a raw escape into Childers’ Kentuckian sound, “Long Violent History” is a call to action and empathy among his listeners.
Childers describes this track as an “observational piece of the times we are in,” ultimately offering a poignant take on the topics of race in America, highlighting everything from discussions of white privilege to allusions to recent victims of police brutality.
It’s called me belligеrent, it’s took me for ignorant
But it ain’t never once made me scared just to be
Could you imagine just constantly worryin’
Kickin’ and fightin’, beggin’ to breathe?
By directly posing questions to his audience with the word you, Childers forces his listeners to engage in the discussion of race relations and police brutality in America. And through recognizing his own privilege in regards to worry-free interactions with law enforcement while simultaneously making allusions to the injustice surrounding George Floyd’s death, Childers illuminates the differential treatment of Black Americans present within our society.
Yet despite the impressively blunt nature of “Long Violent History’s” lyrics, Childers decided to further clarify the song’s message in a YouTube video released on September 18 in an effort to avoid any misinterpretation. In a particularly poignant moment, Childers states, alluding to the Battle of Blair Mountain, “If we wouldn’t stand for it, why would we expect another group of Americans to stand for it? Why would we stand silent while it happened? Or worse, get in the way of it being rectified?”
He concludes this video by listing action items for his audience, urging them to use their voice through voting power and celebrating their Southern heritage with symbols and actions other than the Confederate Flag. Yet this is hardly a case of performative activism. In his plea for basic human empathy, Childers carries an emotional, frustrated urgency that similarly comes across throughout “Long Violent History.”
In addition to this stand of solidarity, perhaps Childers’ greatest accomplishment in this track is his ability to package an imperative message in a manner that will distinctly resonate with his audience. This song’s bluegrass influences and Childers signature twang create a sound that’s wholly representative of his Appalachian roots and recognizable to any country fan. And among this largely instrumental album, “Long Violent History” stands out as a hard-hitting surprise— a distinct period at the end of Childers 9-track long sentence. But it’s not just the catchy, artful rendition of a fiddle and banjo sound that will connect audiences to this important track.
How many boys could they haul off this mountain
Shoot full of holes, cuffed and layin’ in the streets
‘Til we come into town in a stark ravin’ anger
Looking for answers and armed to the teeth?
By including this vivid lyrical content that connects Appalachian experiences of violence (namely the Battle of Blair Mountain) to that against Black people, Childers becomes the necessary representative for change and allyship for his “white, rural listeners.” If he’s willing to recognize this “Long Violent History” against Black Americans, then perhaps others can too.
