Premiere: Finding Solace in Deathless Devotion with Mr. Byrd’s “I’ll Never Let Go”

Mr. Byrd © 2017

Jeremy Byrd is a sentimental man. You can hear it in his lyrics. You can see it in his story. A pattern of comfort and holding on to what’s known and loved is the fabric of his creativity. Under his artist name Mr. Byrd, Byrd is a heartbroken heartthrob. His debut release, “I’ll Never Let Go,” speaks of his inability to move on from a deep love, promising to keep holding on until the end of time.

The song stems from real-life experience, Byrd explaining the hold his first love still has on him.

Listen: “I’ll Never Let Go” – Mr. Byrd
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Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “I’ll Never Let Go,” the lead single off from Mr. Byrd’s forthcoming debut EP Steel Cold Train.

“My first love haunted me,” says Byrd. “Still does I think. I thought I could write her away, but I just obsessed over each line and hung on to them like her memory. I could have written the song for seven more years. I guess I find solace in deathless devotion.”

“I’ll Never Let Go” details Byrd’s lost relationship in phrases like “Something about her wants me to want her, asking to hold on for her heart takes longer.” It’s a short story of dedicated devotion, even after the goodbyes have been said. Byrd delicately dances on the idea that no matter what, his heart can’t, and never wants to, release his grip on her memory.

Mr. Byrd © 2017
Mr. Byrd © 2017

It’s a beautifully written and performed ode to lost love, Byrd’s voice stealing the show. His vocal’s full and calming effect captures the attention and hearts of listeners, feeling Byrd’s pain and immediately declaring his tone honest and true. He is trustworthy, broken yet strong, and perfectly composed. It’s a promise to his budding artistry: the ability to relate and still feel  untouchable as a figure of importance.

In creating his pending EP, Steel Cold Train, Byrd enlisted the help of his sisters, each of whom was a part of his initial musical endeavor, a family band called The Bridges. Though the original project ended poorly under misguidance of a label, Byrd finds it hard to let go of his musical connection to his family, naturally recruiting them for back-up vocals on his solo project.

Mr. Byrd © 2017
Mr. Byrd © 2017

Raised together in a classic Southern setting, Byrd turned to music as a way to cure boredom and joined his sister’s band. As the drummer, he learned about the format of a song and took the experience to heart when it came to writing future music.

These wholesome family roots can be heard in Byrd’s single. While progressive style-wise, the song plays on the idea of a classic folk song, with a simple melody and lovestruck lyrics. It’s remarkably simple, paying homage it Byrd’s roots and knowledge of melody. The song isn’t trying to be too much.

Byrd has used “I’ll Never Let Go” as a way to prove his talent in honest lyricism and acknowledged emotion. It’s a basic, yet enveloping, confession of love, assumably styled this way in order to get the main point across: how much Byrd loves the woman he’s writing about.

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Mr. Byrd © 2017

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