'Aeroplane' by Zach Bryan – Lyrics & Meaning

After a year of one-off singles and innumerable song teasers, Zach Bryan has officially released his sixth studio album and follow-up to his massive 2024 collection, The Great American Bar Scene.

This new project, With Heaven On Top, finds the 'Something in the Orange' hitmaker exactly where he is today – in his career, in his artistry, in his life. Fresh off of the sprawling Quittin' Time Tour and a year of major sold-out stadium shows around the globe, Bryan seems to have poured those experience – as well as ones far more personal – into a single release, spilling his guts about life, love and all that lies just ahead for the international star.

The album's 'Aeroplane' is a great example of Bryan's reality being spun into a tune, the wistful, dream-like number a voyage through regret, longing and the fated ways in which life unfolds before us.

'Aeroplane' is all recycled air – chilly and crisp – the song revolving through tinny acoustic strings and resonant strums. The same riffs and plucks whirl and pirouette, creating a swelling ambience of acoustics throughout. There is little deviation from these gentle guitar parts, the tune showcasing what Bryan does best: clean and emotive Americana.

"She got married on a porch last June
She's got a new last name, she'll have a new home soon
With her yellow-bandana gentleman from the South
Them snowy city streets miss havin' her around"

Zach Bryan doesn't usually write a meaningless song. His lyrics are often sodden with personal experience, weighty with emotion, and 'Aeroplane' is just one more addition to his deeply intimate repertoire.

The melancholic song finds the artist reflecting on a life he's leaving behind and the one that awaits him at the next terminal. He's on a plane, feeling himself depart from the people and the places he once knew.

"And I'm watchin' snow fall from an aeroplane
I've been to Oklahoma, I ain't never been to Spain
And I'm sayin' goodbye to who I used to be
I'll start a forest fire with my family tree"

He's separating himself from a woman he once loved – she's married now and has new commitments and a new life to lead – but he's also separating himself from the person that he used to be. He has a new commitment to chase, one that allows him the space and the grace to grow and evolve.

"'Cause I've been to Kansas City Southern, to them cold Chicago streets
I played rhythm with a drummer to the finest of the beat
I made a woman fall in love and made a rich man cry
And I'm on an aeroplane bound for Spain tonight"

He talks about the experiences that have changed him, shaped him, and led him down the path he's on now. Whether we're the person getting married and settling down or the one on an airplane bound for Spain, Bryan understands full-well that we're all on our individual journeys.

"Shе got married on a porch last June
She's got a nеw last name and a new home soon
And I've been to Oklahoma, but I never been to Spain
I got myself a ride on an old airplane"

She got married on a porch last June
She's got a new last name, she'll have a new home soon
With her yellow-bandana gentleman from the South
Them snowy city streets miss havin' her around
And I'm watchin' snow fall from an aeroplane
I've been to Oklahoma, I ain't never been to Spain
And I'm sayin' goodbye to who I used to be
I'll start a forest fire with my family tree

'Cause I've been to Kansas City Southern, to them cold Chicago streets
I played rhythm with a drummer to the finest of the beat
I made a woman fall in love and made a rich man cry
And I'm on an aeroplane bound for Spain tonight

Shе got married on a porch last June
She's got a nеw last name and a new home soon
And I've been to Oklahoma, but I never been to Spain
I got myself a ride on an old airplane

--

For more on Zach Bryan, see below:

Zach Bryan

Artist