Last October, Zach Bryan released a clip of a then-unreleased song titled “Bad News.” The nearly 60-second clip’s anti-ICE rhetoric immediately caused a stir within the country music industry and even gained the attention and comment of political leaders under the Trump administration. In the comments of social media posts, some argued that, like Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and others, Bryan’s musical activism was not new to the country scene. Others, including political leaders, called Bryan unpatriotic and anti-American, despite his serving in the U.S. Navy for eight years before pursuing music.
As for Bryan’s statement, he told his fans to wait for the song’s release, which addresses political division rather than supporting one party over another. He added that he’s glad to have served for and to live in a country that values free speech. But now, almost seven months later, what happened to Bryan’s “Bad News.”
“Bad News,” a song off of Bryan’s sixth studio album, With Heaven on Top, was released on Jan. 9. While many believe his timing wasn’t intentional, given that he had been working on the tracks for months before, the album came out just two days after Immigation and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers shot American citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis, which was followed by the death of Alex Pretti. But what about Bryan’s song sparked so much controversy, and why is it gaining more support now?
The lyrics, which originally sparked debate in the October clip, included, “And ICE is gonna come bust down your door / Try to build a house no one builds no more / But I got a telephone / Kids are all scared and all alone.” Bryan followed this with “I got some bad news / The fading of the red, white, and blue.” Regardless of political beliefs, those lyrics included some strong language at a time when nearly everything was being watched through a political lens, and the Trump administration was working to increase immigration detentions.
Additional lyrics in the clip also included, “The Boss stopped’ bumping / the rock stopped rolling / The middle fingers rising / and it won’t stop showing.” Here, Bryan referenced Bruce Springsteen, one of his mentors and friends. Nicknamed “The Boss,” Springsteen has been vocal about his liberal political beliefs in the music scene. Since President Trump’s second term, he has played at No Kings protests and called out ICE during his own concerts. In fact, after the release of the album, Bryan’s fans noticed that many of the tracks had a similar sound to Springsteen’s music. Some went as far as to say the lyrics in “Bad News” conveyed a similar message as Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A,” in which he sings about the struggles faced by Vietnam War veterans.
But what lyrics in Bryan’s song were new? In the chorus, Bryan sings, “This land’s your land / this land mine too / Is this all true, man / or is it just bad news?” Bryan references Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” which was first released in the 1940s amid growing frustration with the Great Depression, but is now seen as a patriotic song about the United States’ vast beauty. What’s disputed is whether Bryan intended for the second line in the chorus to be possessive. Some believe it is, drawing parallels to Guthrie’s song, saying that Bryan is frustrated that current politics do not truly serve all Americans. Others argue it’s meant to be “this landmine too,” saying Bryan is calling politicians’ power out, and holding them responsible for the division and potential danger in the country, as caused by a landmine.
In the second verse, Bryan says, “Well, he said, she said, mirrors and smoke / the right’s all red, and the left’s all woke.” These lyrics, along with the second part of the chorus (“Is this all true man / or is it just bad news?”) directly address the political division seen in the media, as he pointed out in his statement when the clip was first released. Some fans have even interpreted this to mean that regardless of what media outlet you listen to, the news is still negative and divisive. The line emphasizes this, “My friends are all degenerates / they’re all I got / Every day on the news/someone else is shot.” In the line about his friends, some have taken this to also illustrate Bryan’s own conflicted political ideology. Historically, veterans are often more conservative-leaning, whereas people within the music industry are more liberal. This is further complicated by the fact that the country music genre is often divided by politics.
The second verse also includes the lyrics, “I served eight years just to be told / that nobody cares and the land’s all sold.” Again, Bryan could be directly addressing the controversy sparked by the original clip here, as many conservative-leaning fans of his invalidated his service. More broadly, he could be speaking about how military service has become a controversial topic and how politicians have more power than the people.
The song ends by repeating the lines “I got some bad news / the fading of the red, white, and blue.” However, another lyric repeated throughout the song includes “I got some bad news / I woke up missing you.” Fans have been quick to point out that “you” is not referring to a woman, as Bryan’s songs typically do, but rather a more united America.
So, now that the content in Bryan’s song is addressed, why is the song gaining more traction now, nearly four months later? One theory is that the song wasn’t as provocative as some expected. In fact, some fans think Bryan may have intentionally dialed back the rest of the song due to the controversy that arose. However, Bryan may disagree, as he expressed worry that his hometown fans from Oklahoma may have left him after the controversy.
Furthermore, Bryan’s album was released during a period of mass political turmoil, including ICE operations in Minnesota, U.S. involvement in Venezuela, and increased pressure for the release of the Epstein files. Thus, it’s likely the song’s release was overshadowed by other, more pressing news. Finally, now that Bryan is back on tour for his new album, more people are listening to the song, and Bryan has begun performing it live. Additionally, the first few times Bryan performed the song, his introduction, alongside the visualizer that accompanied it, went viral.
Therefore, while Bryan’s “Bad News” certainly contains political rhetoric and references to political events, many agree that the song is more about his perspective on the current political environment of the U.S., rather than a stance on his own personal beliefs. Moreover, the song illustrates that in music, there is often more nuance in what is being said than what the message appears to be on first listen.