The Meaning of Tyler Childers’ “All Your’n”
“All Your’n” by Tyler Childers is just one of many beloved songs in the young country star’s catalogue. The song was released as a single from his 2019 album Country Squire. It was this album that marked the official skyrocketing of Tyler Childers from an up-and-coming act adored for his songwriting, to an artist who can headline music festivals and sell out amphitheaters.
Listening to the catchy, easygoing lyrics, it’s pretty obvious that it’s a love song. Most would assume that it’s a love song about a person, which would be a partially-correct assumption.
Of course “All Your’n” is partially, and passably about his wife, Senora May, just like his songs “Lady May”, “Shake The Frost”, and more. However, upon closer analysis of the lyrics, it becomes apparent that “All Your’n” may also be about a different kind of love.
Yes, we’re talking about a love for good old marijuana. This becomes quite apparent after watching the music video.
The video features a man in the forest, smoking pot out of a contraption built into a tree and then trips his way out of the forest and into a honky-tonk bar. There, he gets on stage with a band of psychedelic creatures.
Seems a little odd for a simple love song about his wife, right? That’s because there’s more than meets the eye. Check out the video below and read on for our lyrical analysis.
“All Your’n” Lyrics Meaning
“All Your’n” opens with a gentle, uplifting piano and organ melody before Tyler dives into the opening verse, which is totally passable as not being about drugs:
Drivin’ through the road work, oh, the work they took forever on
First verse to “All Your’n” by Tyler Childers.
The road cones blur like mem’ries of the miles we shared between
The place you learned to say your prayers, the place I took to prayin’
Loadin’ in and breakin’ down my road dog door deal dreams
Long before we ever met, I made up my direction
Long before I knew the half of half I’m sure of now
Though I’d say it ain’t the way that you’d have gone about it
You follow me and lead me on and never let me down
On the surface, this verse depicts Tyler driving long distances on the road, and all of the roads tend to blend together into one long, winding memory. He connects these feelings with nostalgia for his childhood, and the place where he was introduced to religion and said his prayers.
He sings of loading in and breaking down at venues, with his career dreams of being a “road dog” (like Bob Weir) come true. Even before he met his wife, he knew that this was the direction he wanted his life to go, and he appreciates her support even if he doesn’t do things the same way she would.
Then, if you consider the lens of marijuana, this could be interpreted to be about his relationship with the plant. For example, when he sings “the road cones” he could be recalling all the joints he smoked on the road, as joints are often referred to as cones – and his familiar stoned drive past the road work. The memory is blurred because, well, he got high.
He also feels nostalgic about weed, connecting the ritual of smoking with the sacrament, and having a special place where one goes to partake that becomes a beloved shrine for stoners everywhere (not that I would know).
Even before he first encountered the mystical substance, he was destined to be a stoner, and it has never once let him down in times of trouble.
Then, we reach the chorus, which again uses wordplay to create a double meaning:
So I’ll love you ’til my lungs give out, I ain’t lyin’
Chorus to “All Your’n” by Tyler Childers.
I’m all your’n and you’re all mine
There ain’t two ways around it
There ain’t no tryin’ ’bout it
I’m all your’n and you’re all mine
Tyler sings that he will love his wife until the day he dies, and he’s completely sure of it. They have each other and they don’t even have to try, it’s as natural as ever.
Then, you consider the line “I’ll love you ’til my lungs give out,” and realize that he might also be singing about his loving relationship with a woman named Mary Jane.
It brings to mind the Mac DeMarco song, “Ode to Viceroy”, which is a love song about cigarettes that contains a similar lighthearted melody and the lyric, “‘Cause oh, honey, I’ll smoke you ’til I’m dyin'”. Childers is much more subtle, of course, and in a completely different genre, but the comparison stands nonetheless.
The second and final verse to “All Your’n” references intimate moments shared with his beloved:
Fried morels and fine hotels and all that in the middle
Second verse to “All Your’n” by Tyler Childers.
Every bite and curtain drawn, I wanna taste with you
Goddess in my Days Inn pen, the muse I ain’t refusin’
The part of me that ain’t around I’m always talking to
In this verse, Tyler paints a picture of eating fried morels (a type of mushroom that is foraged) and staying in fine hotels, and everything that comes between. This means that no matter if he’s out exploring nature or in a hotel room, he’s happy to share the experience.
He’s stuck in the Days Inn, on the road, but still, his beloved is his muse that helps him get by, and helps him to write the wonderful songs that he writes by providing inspiration and encouragement.
It’s easy to see this verse as being about a special person, but the imagery also brings to mind several familiar marijuana tropes, including mainly the experience of having the munchies. Many creatives also know the experience of using the substance to induce the spark that is needed for productivity.
Whether “All Your’n” by Tyler Childers is about marijuana or Senora May is up to you to decide. It ends with two more renditions of the chorus while you ponder life, love, music, and marihuana.
Enjoy a live version from Red Rocks 2020 below.