THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

Good, Better, Best

“Nobody Wants to Die” – Stephen Ryder

A soulful country ballad that speaks to the quiet fear we all carry.
We sing about heaven, talk about peace, but deep down—we’re still afraid to let go.

With  warm organ, and raw, emotional vocals, Nobody Wants to Die is a reflection on faith, mortality, and the human desire to hold on just a little longer.

For those who’ve asked the hard questions in the silence of the night—this one’s for you.

#StephenRyder #NobodyWantsToDie #CountrySoul #HeartlandGospel #IndieArtist #SingerSongwriter

Nobody Wants To Die

“Still Here” – Stephen Ryder

A soul-deep tribute to the quiet strength of a woman who’s carried more than her share of pain—and kept going anyway. Still Here is a country soul ballad that sees the cracks behind the smile, the fire behind the silence, and the beauty in simply surviving.

With gospel undertones, warm organ, acoustic guitar, and a voice full of grit and compassion, this is a song for every woman who’s ever held it together when the world was falling apart.

Still Here

“Midnight Confession” – Stephen Ryder
In the stillness of the night, truth rises like smoke.
Midnight Confession is a slow-burning blend of Country Soul and Southern Blues, laced with late-night longing and raw vulnerability. With a deep groove, warm organ, and a voice soaked in heartache and heat, this song is where honesty meets desire—and secrets meet the silence of midnight.

It’s not just a confession… it’s a surrender.

Midnight Confession

“Whiskey and Roots” – Stephen Ryder

This one runs deep—through family lines, backroads, and every scar that shaped the man. Whiskey and Roots blends Southern blues, Country soul, and gritty Americana, poured straight from the heart. With swampy guitar, organ swells, and a voice carved from fire and faith, it’s a song about heritage, struggle, and the things that stay with you long after the bottle runs dry.

Whiskey and Roots

Be Still by Stephen Ryder is a deeply moving spiritual ballad anchored in faith and surrender. With soothing melodies and heartfelt vocals, the song offers comfort to those facing fear, uncertainty, or loss. Each verse is a gentle reminder that even in life’s fiercest storms, peace can be found in the quiet presence of something greater. Rooted in scripture yet universally resonant, Be Still is a timeless call to lay down your burdens and rest in unwavering love.

Be Still

Broken Wings by Stephen Ryder is a hauntingly honest Southern country ballad about falling apart and finding the strength to rise again. With raw vocals and soul-stirring melodies, the song reflects on the pain of failure, the weight of regret, and the quiet hope that something broken can still fly. It’s not just about redemption — it’s about surviving long enough to believe in it.

Broken Wings

Light It Up Tonight

He Ain’t Crazy

One Look

Taugh Me To Pray

The More I Like My Dog

The Things We Don’t Say

On a Night So Cold

You Don’t Know the Story

We Said Too Much

Heavy Is the Crown is a tribute to the everyday working man — the unsung hero who gets up before sunrise, pushes through pain without applause, and carries the weight of a family on his back.

He may not wear gold or sit on a throne, but to his loved ones, he’s a king.

This song is for the welders, farmers, truckers, builders — the men who show up, day after day, without asking for credit. Because real strength doesn’t shout. It works.

Written by: Steven Walter Cwiak
Performed by: Stephen Ryder

For licensing or pitching inquiries, contact: stephen@ryder.productions

#CountryMusic #SouthernRock #Americana #WorkingManAnthem #SongwriterDemo #StephenRyder #HeavyIsTheCrown

Heavy Is The Crown

“Barstool Prophet” is a smoky sermon from the darker side of the neon glow.Blending the grit of Waylon Jennings with the unfiltered truth of Charles Bukowski, this outlaw-country blues track spits wisdom from the bottom of a glass. It’s part confessional, part comedy, and all soul — a tongue-in-cheek gospel for the bruised and barbound.

Barstool Prophet

“Riders of the Road” is a cinematic outlaw country ballad, paying heartfelt tribute to The Highwaymen—Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. With deep baritone vocals, acoustic storytelling, and a slow-burning rhythm, the song honors their legacy as legends who carved their truth into every mile of the open road. A timeless journey through rebellion, brotherhood, and the fire that never dies.

Riders of the Road

“We Are Liars” is a brutally honest outlaw ballad that cuts straight through romance and lays bare the quiet destruction of two broken souls clinging to love through lies. With haunting lyricism and confessional grit, the song explores what happens when the bed is warm, but the truth runs cold. Set against a backdrop of whiskey breath, motel rooms, and unkept vows, this track bleeds Southern Gothic heartbreak with every line. It’s not about heroes or villains—it’s about the honesty buried beneath the lies we tell just to hold on.

We Are Liars

God Don’t Ride Shotgun is a raw, confessional outlaw country ballad with gritty vocals and a haunting spoken intro, the song tells the story of a man who’s made peace with the scars he carries — even if heaven hasn’t. It’s not about asking for forgiveness. It’s about owning the road you’ve paved, sins and all.

God Don’t Ride Shotgun

Runnin’ on Dust and Grace” is a haunting outlaw country ballad by Stephen Ryder that tells the story of a man haunted by past mistakes, lost love, and a son he never got to raise. With gritty vocals, raw acoustic textures, and a mournful harmonica weaving through the track, this song rides the line between redemption and regret. It’s not a plea for mercy—it’s a confession whispered into the wind. For fans of Chris Stapleton, Johnny Cash, and Southern Gothic Americana.

Dust and Grace

Raw, unflinching, and full of outlaw grit, “Soul” is a powerful anthem about holding on to the one thing no one can take — your spirit. Through weathered vocals and stripped-down storytelling, Stephen Ryder lays bare a lifetime of sins, scars, and regrets, but draws the line at surrender. With haunting guitars and a voice soaked in truth, this track isn’t about redemption—it’s about defiance, dignity, and dying with something left that’s still yours. “Soul” is for anyone who’s walked through fire… and came out with something that still burns.

Soul

“Lost and Found Tonight” is a hauntingly tender country ballad about love, regret, and the long road home. With vivid imagery and soul-searching honesty, the song follows a man driving through the night—chasing forgiveness, chasing memory, and chasing the one he let slip away.

Each verse unfolds like a confessional prayer to the open highway, with white lines becoming metaphors for lost chances and the weight of past mistakes. The chorus aches with longing, while the bridge flips the perspective—introducing a female voice still holding onto hope, her porch light burning quietly in the dark.

In the final chorus, the two voices unite, not as strangers or ex-lovers, but as two souls still reaching for redemption and connection. Set against a backdrop of neon nights, ghostly headlights, and raw emotion, Lost and Found Tonight reminds us that sometimes the only way forward… is back.

Lost & Found Tonight

“Echoes of a Simple Life” is a heartfelt reflection on the beauty of what we leave behind in the pursuit of success. With vivid memories of barefoot days, porch-swing wisdom, and the quiet grace of simpler times, the song gently questions the cost of ambition. It’s a poetic journey through nostalgia, humility, and the longing to return to a life where joy came without noise, and meaning was found in the stillness. A tribute to slowing down, remembering what matters, and finding peace in the echoes that never really fade.

Echoes of a Simple Life

The Wabash Cannonball (Outlaw Arrangement) is a reinvention of the American folk classic, rewritten and reborn with fire and freight by Stephen Ryder. This version trades the old singalong for a steel-bell sermon — haunted slide guitar, outlaw grit, and Southern soul. It’s not just a train song anymore… it’s a ghost story rolling down the line.

Written & Arranged by: Stephen Ryder
Based on the traditional folk song (Public Domain)
Produced by: Ryder Productions

🔥 Outlaw Country • Southern Soul • Americana

Wabash Cannonball

“This Ain’t Goodbye (It’s Just a Song)” by Stephen Ryder is a tender, heart-worn ballad that captures the pain of love left unspoken and the quiet hope that lingers through music. With aching lyrics and a soulful country delivery, Ryder turns a lost note, an empty driveway, and a jukebox hum into a story of holding on without pretending to be okay. This is the kind of goodbye you don’t say — you sing.

It’s Just A Song

Bet You Don’t Miss Me is Stephen Ryder at his most vulnerable. This emotional country ballad dives deep into the quiet ache of unreturned love — when one person moves on without looking back, and the other’s still stuck in rewind. With aching lyrics, raw vocals, and a melody that lingers, it’s the kind of song that hits late at night when you’re wondering if they ever think of you too.

For anyone who’s ever said “I’m fine” and meant the opposite — this one’s for you.

Bet You Don’t Miss Me

🎶 I use SoundCloud to test out my songs before official release, and your feedback means the world to me.
If you’ve got a thought, a favorite line, or even a critique — drop it in the comments.
Every listen and message helps shape the final cut. Thanks for being part of the journey! 🙏
— Stephen Ryder

The Reason I Stay

Two-Steppin’ Shadows

Last Call Lonsome

Broken Wings (Remix)

Route 66” by Stephen Ryder is a high-octane country dance anthem built for the open road and the honky-tonk floor. With driving rhythms, catchy repetition, and a heart set on Amarillo, this song blends classic country grit with modern swagger. Whether you’re behind the wheel or two-steppin’ under neon lights, Route 66 brings the heat. Turn it up, hit the gas, and let the road take you home

Route 66

One Last Shot

Sultry Swamp Rock Mood
Let It Rain drips with the slow-burn allure of swamp rock, its heartbeat set by a steady, hypnotic rhythm section. Muted electric guitar riffs slink through the haze, while earthy organ pads glow like heat rising from the bayou. Verses ride a languid I-V groove, each note drawn out with laid-back twang and sly, soulful fills. In the choruses, country-tinged harmonies and layered textures bloom, wrapping the listener in a warm, rootsy embrace. It’s the sound of rain-soaked nights, flickering porch lights, and the sultry grind of a back-to-front swing dance—two bodies moving as one, caught between temptation and release.

Let it Rain

“Streamin’ Pennies” is a defiant outlaw anthem for every indie artist grinding through the noise of the digital age. With raw fiddle licks, banjo fire, and a hard-edged vocal delivery, Stephen Ryder takes aim at the streaming economy and the gatekeepers at the top.

This track is part protest, part perseverance — a battle cry from the backroads to the algorithm. It’s for the ones pouring out their truth for pennies on a stream, standing tall while the big dogs bark from gilded thrones.

Streamin’ Pennies

We Live and We Learn is Stephen Ryder’s powerful outlaw country anthem, blending raw emotion with a driving groove. With gritty vocals, soulful guitar work, and lyrics about burned bridges, hard lessons, and resilience, the song captures the spirit of someone who’s been through the fire and come out stronger. It’s a reflection on mistakes made, wisdom earned, and the unshakable will to keep moving forward — a track that’s as honest as it is unforgettable.

We Live and We Learn

Stephen Ryder is a country artist with a storyteller’s heart, weaving real-life experiences into heartfelt, powerful songs. His music blends traditional country with modern influences, creating songs that speak to love, life, and the journey in between. 

With a growing catalog of music, Stephen continues to share songs that resonate with listeners, whether it’s a heartfelt ballad, a foot-stomping anthem, or a reflective tune about life’s unexpected roads. His dedication to authenticity and storytelling makes his music a perfect fit for country radio and beyond. Follow me on Spotify!  

https://open.spotify.com/artist/60jKjrPsJ9Z43m0qF60S74?si=ayZTWLy5T5udCZ1y1hhYlA

Stephen Ryder

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