About the Song

Track: Secrets

Length: 4:42

Album: Renewal (2021)

Artist: Billy Strings

Songwriters: Billy Strings, Jon Weisberger, & Aaron Allen

Favorite part:

“Little said is soonest mended

Without a wing a word can fly a 1,000 miles

I’d rather be abandoned or alone

Just so I can lend my secrets to the wind”

Here’s Why I Love It

Quite simply, Billy Strings is one of the fastest guitar players on the planet. The kid just rips, but— and this a large but—he’s also an underrated songwriter (mostly due to his virtuoso guitar chops). Just reading the four lines above (the chorus from the song) makes this evident. IMO, it’s just flat out excellent writing. There’s just so much more gold like that, and not just sprinkled in this song but in his last two albums, Home (2019) and Renewal (2021). It’s hard to release two albums back to back that are this good.

To me, the song is about vulnerability. It’s about secrets we share or don’t share with our loved ones—more specifically, a romantic partner. Afraid, really. We all bare secrets in some capacity (some uglier than others), and what we choose to reveal about ourselves is a decision we all consciously or unconsciously make. How will the other person react? Do they need to know everything, everything? Meanwhile “art” in whatever capacity can take those hits and allow those truths to “fly a 1,000 miles.” There’s so much in here, so I can’t possibly break down the entire song but you should read the lyrics (100 percent).

Just from the opening verse, you know this is about be a lightning rod of a song—“It’s something cold like what I stuck around to fight through / And it gets feeling tougher everyday / I feel like everybody likes to run their mouth / But can’t decide on what it is they’re trying to say / The’re nothing wrong with hearing voices / Even when they’re in your dreams / And if you’d listen in tomorrow could be better than it seems.” I usually don’t share so much, but my fear is that because of its style (bluegrass), you won’t be patient with it. You might already be saying in your head, “Eh, bluegrass isn’t really my thing.” Here’s the funny thing. I was never into bluegrass, either—like never ever. But not only do I listen to both of those Strings albums on the reg, he might be one of my top-5 favorite artists today. (Maybe I’ll make that list soon.)

Read the lyrics

Listen to The Song

*This article is part of the ongoing Lyrics I Love series: short interpretations of the meaning and story behind one song with lyrics that move me.