Singled Out: Martin Kerr's Your Hand In Mine

Keavin Wiggins | 08-04-2023

EP promo

Martin Kerr just released his new EP, "Don't Listen To Me". We asked him to tell us about one of the songs to celebrate and he selected "Your Hand In Mine." Here is the story:

This song started as a joke. I was literally sitting on the couch goofing around pretending to be another artist (I won't say who) trying to write the folkiest love song possible, and my manager said, "That's really good! You should finish that!". It was really fun to write and became one of my favorite songs.

"Your Hand In Mine" is a really relaxed, sincere ballad about savoring those simple, intimate moments together with your true love. It tells the story of a quiet, beautiful, ordinary day together. I've heard too many songs about the first night of a relationship - I love writing about what love feels like after years and years. There are a couple of funny moments too, which I think is really characteristic of a happy, long-term love.

It's also inspired by the experience of being forced to focus on those simple, close-to-home pleasures during lockdown. But truth be told, those are mostly my favorite things anyway. The production is incredibly sparse and simple, which really reflects the story that's being told in the lyrics. The chorus is the quietest part of the song, which is something you don't hear very often. Sometimes being really slow and gentle creates the most romantic moment. It's been going over really well at my live shows, and people love to slow dance to it.

I've always been a bit scared of coming across as cheesy or too sincere - growing up in cynical England with a cooler, older sister it was always safer to be sarcastic or clever than actually say what I felt. But starting this song as a joke actually helped me to loosen up and say what I really wanted to about love.

I'm sure most people could imagine themselves in this song, but for me, it's about my wife Tara. I've been with her for 18 years now, which isn't very rock n roll, but it really is getting better all the time.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the EP here