Ernest gifts ‘Takes After You’ this Mother’s Day

Celebrates wife with sentimental track

Country’s fast-rising visionary Ernest is back with a heartfelt prayer for his family, celebrating Mother’s Day and honoring his wife Delaney Royer on “Takes After You,” out now. One of his more personal tracks to date, the esteemed storyteller humbly acknowledges his imperfections in the sentimental ode to parenting, the heartstring-tugging devotional hopeful that their son will take after her instead.

“I heard someone talking to Johnny Cash in a video,” Ernest shares. “They said ‘Johnny I’ve known ya a long time. I got a son now, and if he don’t take after Jesus, I’d be quite alright if he took after you.’ So I immediately thought, I couldn’t agree more with Ryman and Delaney. She is the most humble, kind, empathetic, nature loving, giving, selfless, and downright wholesome human I know. The things she’ll teach Ryman in this life by her actions will transcend anything he’ll learn in a building.”

The 2X CMA Triple Play Award winner co-wrote “Takes After You” with Jordan Schmidt and Josh Thompson. Recognizing the profound impact of a mother’s influence, he bares his heart simply: “I know that boy won’t walk on water / ‘Cause he comes from my blood / And I pray one day he’ll look back and / Not be all I was / He might not live by all red letters / Somethin’ close to that will do / Oh if he don’t take after Jesus / I hope he takes after you.”

“I want to instill in him a knowing of God and the importance of gratitude and faith,” Ernest continues. “My wild side has won too many times and I hope by my mistakes I can help him avoid some. But like the song says, if he don’t take after Jesus, I hope he takes after you.”

Accompanied by an official music video, the clip compiles heartwarming family footage, showcasing cherished time spent together in the studio, on the road, and at home.

“This song is specific to me, but I think there are a lot of parents out there who likely feel the same as me. Y’all moms are something special, and a strong woman who leads by example will have an incredible impact on a young man. Thank y’all.”

The rising star will celebrate this week in Dallas with back-to-back performances surrounding the 2023 ACM Awards. The 2X nominee for New Male Artist of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year will perform at ACM Lifting Lives Live and at Opry NextStage Live as a member of the 2023 Opry NextStage class.

Ernest will continue to bring the heat, lighting up stages nationwide on his just announced headlining This Fire Tour this fall, including two back-to-back nights at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com