Single by
Ryan Ross Hernandezfrom the album Definition of HomeReleased: September 5, 2025
Studio: Prime Recording Studios (Nashville)
Genre: Country pop
Length: 3:48
Label: Electric Gold Sounds
Songwriter(s): Ryan Ross Hernandez • Ellie-Grace Summers
Producer(s): Ryan Ross Hernandez • Ellie-Grace Summers
"Permanence" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ryan Ross Hernandez. It was released on September 5, 2025, through Electric Gold Sounds, an independent Nashville-based imprint, as the second single from Hernandez's forthcoming ninth studio album,
Definition of Home. It follows-up the first single "Tennessee Daydream", which peaked at number two on the weekly Chart Heat publication in May 2025. Hernandez wrote and produced the track with girlfriend and frequent collaborator Ellie-Grace Summers. Upon release Hernandez confirmed that Summers serves as the only producer on
Definition of Home, marking the second consecutive album the country-pop star has produced for Hernandez following the 2024 release
Late Fragment. Reviews for "Permanence" were mostly positive with many music critics highlighting the composition and radio-friendly country-pop sound, as well as the production, but some found the lyrics to be dull and its weak spot.
Music and LyricsHernandez wrote "Permanence" with Summers, who led the band arrangements as well as handled the additional programming on the track, while Hernandez played all the included acoustic and electric guitars, with Nashville-based session musicians providing the rest of the live instrumentation. The song was recorded at Prime Recording Studios in Nashville with Hernandez and Summers serving as the producers. It has been described by critics as a modern-day country pop song with its easy-listening sound, heavily relying on acoustic guitars and a rolling drum and percussion section. It features a subtle electronic production in the background with synths and drum machines, along with a plucking bass-line featured throughout much of the song. Hernandez is the only credited singer, with his vocals layered multiple times to create an atmospheric chorus. According to Maddie Clark of Pitchfork, Hernandez sounds "more earnest" as the song builds to the chorus, while the verses are "soothing" and "melodically pleasing" in its "love plea".
The lyrics of "Permanence" are about a revived romantic affair, strongly speculated to be inspired by Hernandez's current relationship with Summers. The narrator promises his partner that they have become their top priority over his own career, while reflecting on the past and how impactful the romance has been on his life. In the chorus, Hernandez's character states that if their partner had ended up marrying someone else in an alternate reality he would have initiated an illicit affair with them until he "stole them away", and promising their love will remain unchanged indefinitely. The second verse pokes fun at how the narrator is viewed as an outsider in his lover's home state, going on to list potential suitors but ultimately his partner choosing him. The bridge highlights the love as also being physical, comparing their sex life as a religious experience. Rolling Stone's Anna Walters' described the lyrics as "a refresh of Hernandez from yesteryear", thanks to its "sexual candor" and "light humor", but set in a "lovey-dovey backdrop".
Song CommentaryCoinciding with the single release, Hernandez shared via e-mail the songwriting and recording process for the song, sent to fans who had pre-ordered
Definition of Home. The full newsletter was shared by fans soon-after and subsequently shared on Hernandez's official Instagram the next day. His commentary went viral mainly due to him providing rare insight about his romance with Summers.
Ryan Ross Hernandez wrote:"There is this quiet beauty when it comes to being in a relationship that has this shared commitment that it not only exists for the present moment. It's also built to endure through unforeseen challenges, changes in environment, and the simple/complex passage of time. Rarely when you are young do you visualize stability and continuity being some of the most important factors when it comes to a forever love story. "Permanence" to me is this long sigh of relief when you realize that you are with the exact person that you were always destined to be with. Writing songs about falling in love is easy. Writing songs about everlasting love that capture that feeling wholly are difficult but I am so incredibly proud of this song for accomplishing that personal goal of mine.
As is the case with many songs found on this album, "Permanence" was an idea born organically at home in Nashville one evening. My girlfriend, Ellie-Grace [Summers], was in the next room and I was sitting on the couch messing around on an acoustic guitar when that initial melody you hear on the song came to mind and I sang that first verse. I didn't think much of it but I did like this bold lyrical proclamation that music is no longer the the be-all and end-all for me because it's factual. If you've dedicated a number of years or decades to your career or craft and suddenly you realize someone has superseded that, there is a switch that goes off in your mind. The thing you love the most is no longer an intangible, it is a gorgeous 5'10" blue-eyed blonde-haired woman who you get to hold and share your life with on a daily basis - that is quite specific to me - you still understand what I mean.
I heard Ellie quietly walk into the room and as soon as I tried to dismiss it as nothing she quickly begged to differ. Which I am so thankful to have someone who pushes me and encourages that I follow through every creative burst I have. The exact reason why the supremely talented E.G.S is once again the producer throughout the project. We recorded a voice memo on her phone, which was a stream of consciousness in a way. There was no true structure minus the chorus being more or less set by the end of the night. We were already in the midst of making the album, so the following morning we went into the studio and as the perfectionists that we are we hyper-focused on this song for the next few days. I knew exactly how I wanted the guitars to sound and the vocal delivery, so Ellie-Grace handled the rest of it and she nailed the vision we had from the start. It's one of the songs that veers more towards pop on the record, yet that happened naturally. I immediately knew once it was recorded that I wanted it to be a single and be heard by as many folks as possible.
I believe "Permanence" is one of the best songs I've ever released. I no longer have any sort of lofty goals where I need a song of mine to be a "hit". My only hope is that it can soundtrack your own foreverness love if you've been lucky enough to find it too. And if you haven't yet, maybe this little three minute and forty-eight second tune can inspire you to keep searching. I promise you it's worth not giving up on."
Critical Reception"Permanence" was met with generally positive reviews. Robert Dawson of The New York Times wrote that out of all the "blatantly obvious" songs that are rumored to be about Hernandez's relationship with Summers, "Permanence" is to date the most "beautifully executed" and makes the listener "actively root" for their love. For People, Emily Warner called the song a "perfect second taste" to
Definition of Home, and praised the lyrics as "romantic and delicate." Pitchfork's Maddie Clark named "Permanence" the site's Best New Track upon release, calling it "effortlessly gorgeous" while still holding a signature "Hernandez-esque" sound. Writing for Variety, Alyssa Williams described the song as a "lovely balance" between "earnest and subtle", noting that the acoustic-pop undertones fit Hernandez best rather than going "all in" on a purely country sound. Both NME's Abigail Peterson and Paste Magazine's Curtis Ferguson highlighted the contributions of Ellie-Grace Summers' as a producer, with the former stating that "[Summers] has helped reinvigorate Hernandez's music" past their personal connection.
Kimberly Wayne of the Associated Press called "Permanence" a more "focused effort" in comparison to "Tennessee Daydream", with a "catchy chorus" and "slow-dancing" country-pop sound. Similarly, writing for PopMatters, Olivia Spencer felt the song had "instant mainstream appeal" without sacrificing any "trademark [Hernandez] authenticity and candor". The Line of Best Fit's Timothy Collins described the song as "heartwarming" due to Hernandez's lyrics and vocal delivery. For Clash Music, Dakota Martin stated that track has a "warm comforting sound" noting that the songwriting is "loving, delicate, erotic, and funny". In more lukewarm receptions, The Guardian's Christina Haywood viewed the lyrics as "fitting to the styling yet uninspired overall", while John Allen for Los Angeles Times wrote that "Hernandez's singing is unfortunately the weak spot", but found the rest song to be a "whimsical love story". Billboard's Autumn Wainwright speculated that "Permanence" would become a "modern classic" at wedding receptions.
"Permanence"I'll choose you over this music shit
'Cause for the first time in my life
I have something that means more to me
If I lose it all tomorrow on a bad bet
I know you'd still love me just the same
All our friends say we act like a married couple
Who has been together for fifteen years
'Cause in some ways that's me and you
Our souls have been intertwined since the very first day
The years apart sure brought me hell
I wouldn't trade them for anything
They led me back to you, baby
So what else could I ever pray for?
If you had gone ahead and ended up with the wrong guy
We would have had a clandestine affair
'Til I stole you away for good at the dead of night
The world tore us apart once
We won't let it happen again
In this lifetime or the next
Left behind all the girls who said I was damaged goods
You made me whole without even trying
Tell me do you feel this permanence too?Those modern day cowboys don't like the sight of me
They say a liberal elitist stole the greatest thing
To ever come out of this southern state
And darlin', I'm not oblivious
I know you can probably do better than me
Some tough guy vacant athlete who could kick my ass
Some pretentious actor whose life is a constant burning sunset
Some overrated singer who's twenty years younger than me
But here you are with me instead
Moaning when the sun is rising in our bedroom
We didn't sleep at all again
Still making up for the years we lost
Thanks to all those letdown lovers
They led me back to you, baby
So what else could I ever pray for?
If you had gone ahead and ended up with the wrong guy
We would have had a clandestine affair
'Til I stole you away for good at the dead of night
The world tore us apart once
We won't let it happen again
In this lifetime or the next
Left behind all the girls who said I was damaged goods
You made me whole without even trying
Tell me do you feel this permanence too?It used to be lonely at the top
All the solo flights on a private jet
Now I got the finest by my side
The most perfect being in this world
I've always had doubts about a higher power
But how the puzzle pieces fell in place for us
It almost makes me a believer
When every night I worship
At the altar between your thighs
If you had gone ahead and ended up with the wrong guy
We would have had a clandestine affair
'Til I stole you away for good at the dead of night
The world tore us apart once
We won't let it happen again
In this lifetime or the next
Left behind all the girls who said I was damaged goods
You made me whole without even trying
Tell me do you feel this permanence too?So what else could I ever pray for?
(Tell me do you feel this permanence too?)
So what else could I ever pray for?
(Tell me do you feel this permanence too?)
So what else could I ever pray for?
(Tell me do you feel this permanence too?)
So what else could I ever pray for?
(Tell me do you feel this permanence too?)
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(OOC: Thank you to Sean/BrownSugar for the artwork!)
