Some love songs are about the delightful part of love, but “Unsteady” by X Ambassadors, isn’t one of those.
This song is a tearjerker, with a sound that rips your heart out; the plea of a small kid whose parent’s relationship is exploding. He appeals to them to hold on, that he needs help and support and recognition. He’s “Unsteady.”
“Unsteady” projects the same plaintive vocal and mood that was so mesmerizing in 1976’s hit “Love Hurts” by the band Nazareth, which was about the end of a love affair.
In 1976 the oldest baby boomer was 30, and the youngest was 12, which means virtually every Boomer who listened to the radio has heard “Love Hurts” at an age when love and drama went hand in hand.
Today’s youngest Boomer is 52 and the oldest are hitting 70, and one assumes that the drama that surrounded boy/girl (or girl/girl and boy/boy) relationships has mellowed, however, “Unsteady” expands the definition of “relationship” to include the parent-child dynamic, and one is reminded that love, or in this case, the loss of love, be it a lover or a friend, or family, or a pet, or a lifestyle, or a talent, can have painful aspects.
Background
“Renegades” by the X Ambassadors was a Boomer Music Update selection last August. https://boomermusicupdate.com/?s=x+ambassadorswe
“Renegades” had such mass appeal Jeep Cherokee chose it for their TV commercial.
Currently, “Unsteady” is Top 3 in airplay on Alternative radio with a good chance of reaching #1.
“Love Hurts,” first recorded by The Everly Brothers in 1960, was written by the late and brilliant husband and wife songwriting duo Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.