Gregory Childs and Heart Lung Make a Powerful Musical Plea “From the Chest”
Traditional-leaning country and folk music often dance along the sharp and rough edges of life – loss, heartbreak, yearning, and the desire for salvation. It connects the heart first, goes deep, and then gets into your bones. Toronto-based alt-country quintet Gregory Childs and Heart Lung are aiming straight for what’s under your ribs with their raw and driving new single, “From the Chest.”
Following up the band’s two-song debut, Baby Blue EP, released in late 2020, and a one-off single, “Lonesome,” released last May, “From the Chest” delivers a train-chugging emotional wallop and carries the band’s stylistic and songwriting evolution several steps further along the track. The sweet and savory counterpoint of songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist Gregory Childs and his wife, Tyrah, vocalist and tambourine player for the group, illustrates the duality of the song’s story of a man both grieving the death of his wife and pleading for his own salvation.
“It details the desperate pleas he makes to God as he asks to be allowed into heaven despite living a life of less-than-Christian ideals and shortfalls,” explains Gregory Childs. “It’s about praying your own way and being a good person without necessarily following all the ‘rules’ laid out by organized religion.”
I sing this song just to ensure that at that Holy hour
you’ll let me through your front gate though the devil may be sour
cause I may have promised him just a thing or two
but Lord I swear I’ll make it up to you
It turns out that the impetus to write “From the Chest” came from a very personal place of loss for Childs.
“I wrote this song out of inspiration and through a dedication to my own lost friend, a drummer who passed away too young,” he explains. “He was a devout Christian but struggled to keep up with the church-going ideals requested in the bible. A good heart that stumbled, fell and ultimately pleaded ‘take me home’ through his own song writing. He left a legacy that continues to breathe in the whole band.”
Take me back sweet Jesus
I want to go home tonight
Lord take me home
I’ve said my goodbyes
“Spun up with outlaw country and Cobain grease,” reads a descriptor from Gregory Childs and Heart Lung’s bio. It paints a vivid picture of this strum-and-thump group of storytellers who like to tinge the traditional with a dash or two of rock ‘n’ roll rebellion. Formed in 2019, the group also includes Nick Cousins on harmonica, Brent Kervin on bass, and Zachary Moloci on drums and vocals.
“From the Chest” was recorded last winter at Pineship Sound in Toronto, which is owned by the band Zeus. Two members of Zeus lent a hand in the process, Carlin Nicholson and Mike O’Brien, who played organ on “From the Chest.” Childs and his cohorts rocked their way through a series of back-to-back shows before sequestering into Pineship to lay down the tracks, the bones live off the floor first, followed by overdubs.
Just before the pandemic and since live music has revved up again, Gregory Childs & Heart Lung have been tearing up legendary stages around Toronto, including The Horseshoe and The Dakota Tavern. With at least two more singles planned for release in the coming months, they’ll undoubtedly expand their roots and roll beyond the GTA.
When they get back under the lights on those hallowed Toronto stages and beyond, Gregory Childs & Heart Lung will be reaching deep into the audience’s own hearts with their revealing, very personal alt-country anthems coming right “From the Chest.”
“This song was catalyzed by my owns fears, fearing loss, fearing being split apart from passed-on loved ones,” adds Childs. “It’s a message to higher powers, a request to look beyond the superficial when casting final judgment on mortals and to give us a break for all our earthly shortcomings.”
Listen to “From the Chest” below and learn more about Gregory Childs and Heart Lung via our mini-interview.
Care to introduce yourself?
I am Gregory Childs, Mississauga-born, Campbellville-raised, and Toronto-based for the past ten years. I lead Heart Lung, an alt-country band consisting of my wife Tyrah Childs (vocals/tambourine) and good friends Nick Cousins (harmonica/guitar/pedal steel), Brent Kervin (bass), and Zachary Moloci (drums/vocals). I write songs about experiences that I don’t want to happen to me and about the life that I’ve lived. I believe in their power to change and inspire. I perform to honour the spirit of these songs and give them a chance to breathe and be heard as they’re meant to be.
Tell us about the process of writing “From the Chest.”
Cutting moral corners, skirting what we’re supposed to do in favour of what’s easy, and generally just disagreeing with the Bible’s version of what is acceptable in the day-to-day existence of our lives comes naturally to most. But what about when someone is torn away from you, taken to Heaven? What happens when we want to follow through those gates so that we can be with them? The discerning eye of God is both vengeful (read God’s plans for Babylon in the Jeremiah passages if you disagree) but also forgiving. Will we be allowed in?
“From the Chest” came to me as a way to honour a fallen friend that deserved God’s forgiveness but also from my own need to believe that the higher power will see past our sins and let us be with our family in the afterlife despite our daily rebellion of what may be “morally unsound” as defined in the Bible. The song is a plea to be forgiven, a message saying,
“you know once or twice I didn’t go to church
and I’ve spent my fair share of time living in the dirt
but I’ll be damned if my knees don’t hurt
praying Lord take me home tonight.”
They say that God’s presence is the strongest in those that stray the farthest, those that need it most. Throughout the darkest and most trying times of my life, I’ve confirmed this to be true.
What’s it like being a musician in Toronto?
There is something about playing gigs in a big city that can’t really be beaten. All sorts of people wander into shows, and you never know who needs to hear what song, how you’ll influence them or how their presence at the gig will push your performance. The competition for stage time, the sheer mass of people, and intense judgment push you to keep going. It’s tough, but I wouldn’t want to base my musical career anywhere else in Canada.
Who was the first Canadian artist to blow you away?
My mom would crank Shania Twain in the car on our family trips to Windsor as we made the long 401 trek to visit relatives. I fondly recall sitting with my brother in the back of the blue Tempo as the street light glow passed over our faces, and “That Don’t Impress Me Much” blared. It definitely got my heart stirring a certain way.
You’ve been making music for a while now. What’s one piece of advice you can offer to those starting out?
Be your biggest fan. Horse blinders.
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