U-Haul by Ryan Yingst

Ryan Yingst’s “U-Haul” gives me the same feeling of staring at my LinkedIn profile at 2 a.m. and wondering why I didn’t become something better in my life. The Harrisburg-born folk journeyman (flannel enthusiast, spreadsheet whisperer, and certified overthinker) crafts a ballad for the chronically restless—the kind of people who daydream about burning their IKEA furniture mid-assembly.  

The premise? Life is a U-Haul truck. Not as a metaphor for love, but as a sleight to monotony. Yingst’s lyrics ditch weepy breakup tropes to ask: What if we just… left? This song is less about heartache and more about the existential dread of being a millennial who accidentally “adulted” too well (god I hate that word). The chorus is catchy in that way that makes you want to quit your side hustle and move to Thailand—or at least repost the song with a “MOOD” caption. 

I can just feel the existential dread coming out of this song. Being a young person in our world right-now-crippling-economy, and the possibility of a third world war everyday. When over 50% of the population is in danger in our country it makes me want to sell everything I own and just buy a van, smoke copious amounts of weed and just do whatever I want just to have some sense of happiness I haven’t felt since I was a child. Am I projecting a little? Probably more than I’d like to admit. However this song embodies that feeling and for 3 minutes I feel heard. But back to topic.

Musically, it’s a folk fever dream of pristine fingerpicking and vocals so smooth they could sell me a used car with a dead fish inside it (though Yingst’s occasional Appalachian-meets-Philly affect is stronger towards the end of the song). The production’s polished to a T—imagine Sawyer Fredericks’ rasp fed through a “How To Adult” YouTube tutorial. It’s all very cozy, like a weighted blanket made of existential crisis.

This song and performer really remind me of Sawyer Fredricks, Tyler Childers, artists I have a fondness for, not to mention Tim McGraw as well. 

But here’s the twist: Yingst’s not actually ditching responsibility. The song’s tension comes from its suburban rebellion—less “sell everything and live in a van,” more “what if we painted the living room teal?” When he croons, “I was raised by television sets and burning existential threats” — it’s weirdly profound. This isn’t Into the Wild; it’s the conversation you have with your friends while stoned in a target parking lot. And that I can get behind.

Verdict: “U-Haul” is the folk anthem for people who post on Facebook they’re getting rid of Facebook.

Written by Adam Stone

Song link