Watch: Country Star Tyler Childers Debuts Gay Love Song and Video

Country music star Tyler Childers and openly gay poet and novelist Silas House collaborated on a new video for Childers' single 'In Your Love' that revisits queer commitment in midcentury Kentucky.

University of Kentucky radio station WUKY noted that House, who is a novelist as well as Kentucky's poet laureate, wrote the video's story along with his partner, Jason Kyle Howard.

The video, set roughly 60 years ago, follows two coal miners in love who face harassment and rejection in the hyper-masculine world of the mines. Leaving that life behind, they start anew as farmers – but not before one of them contracts black lung disease. Still, the two men share an enduring devotion that fans have found moving with its message of fearless gay love: "You're the finest thing around," the lyrics declare, "So I will stand my ground."

The video stars out actors Colton Haynes ("Teen Wolf") and James Scully ("Fire Island"). The idea of using such handsome actors was, House told NPR, inspired by "a photograph of my uncle and my grandfather," men who "worked in the coal mines, but on the weekend they went out dancing, and they looked like Elvis and James Dean."

But they wanted to tell an authentic regional story, too.

"Beyond the love story, we wanted that Appalachian representation too," House explained. "We looked to our family pictures from this period, and used those pictures in helping shop for costumes, and for set design."

Part of that authenticity meant recognizing that gay people – who have always been part of every segment of society – have managed to survive and thrive throughout history. House pointed out that "if you look at the way rural, working class and poor people, Black people, gay people are portrayed, especially on TV, it focuses a lot on the despair and not enough on the joy."

"We wanted to have the joy in there. Because that's what makes a full life, right?"

Representation for today's LGBTQ+ Americans was also important. Childers told NPR that one of his motivations for wanting to tell the story of two gay coal miners-turned-farmers in midcentury Kentucky was that "my cousin growing up, who's like my big brother, is gay. And he graduated from Northern Kentucky, went to Chicago and never came back. He taught me so much about singing; he was my first tough critic. And just thinking about him not having a music video on CMT that spoke to him."

Agreed House, "He wants to tell a story like this because he has friends and family who are members of the LGBT community, and are part of the story of Appalachia, too."

"These are human stories, not political stories."

That simple fact was lost on homophobic trolls who attacked the video as being "woke," but Childers fully expected some pushback.

"For all the ugliness that it's going to bring out that just can't be helped, this video is going to make real conversations possible," the country star, who is straight, said.

"This is a story of two people sharing their love and living a life together and experiencing loss. That's pretty powerful. Once you take away the flash card phrases and like the knee-jerk reactions, how does that make you feel?"

It made fans feel plenty, HITC reported.

Some couldn't help but point out the contrast between "InYour Love," which dropped July 27, and another country song that struck a much different chord in American society recently.

Fans weren't alone in embracing the video; Rolling Stone called "In Your Love" "The music video of compassion and caring we need right now," prompting House to thank the iconic music magazine "for this deep understanding of what we were trying to do."

Colton Haynes took to social media to give his own perspective, calling "In Your Love" "one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard," and saying it was an "honor to be a part of it."

"In Your Love" is featured on Childers' upcoming album "Rustin' in the Rain," due out Sept. 8.