'Disaster' by The Red Clay Strays – Lyrics & Meaning

If you listen to The Red Clay Strays' newest record, Made By These Moments, from top to bottom, you'll find a fair bit of religious undertones and symbolism throughout.

From the record's opening song, 'Disaster,' listeners are immediately introduced to some of the content that's waiting for them across the rest of its ten tracks, but none are as foreboding as its kickoff.

Opining on the second coming of Christ, 'Disaster' explains that no matter how hard we try, as humans, we will always be imperfect and destined to cause our own downfall.

Established in 2016, the five-piece from Mobile, Alabama – comprised of Brandon Coleman (lead vocals, guitar, keys), Drew Nix (electric guitar, vocals, harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass) and John Hall (drums) – arrive with a refined sense of artistry with their 2024 project, proving that they were never giong to be just another one hit wonder.

Throughout much of their live shows over the last year, The Red Clay Strays have started their sets with this eery track, which goes a step even further on the newly minted studio version.

With a hazy, haunting guitar strumming along on its own, the song slowly builds as Coleman's signature, guttural growl cuts through the grungy, southern rock-inspired instrumentation.

A classic take on outlaw country, the song, as well as the rest of Made By These Moments, was produced by award-winning producer and revered musician Dave Cobb, which grabs listeners attention within seconds of hitting play on the record.

"I'm a giant slayer
I'm a music player
I'm a young king walkin'
Now the prophet's talkin'

I don't wanna say I got carried away
When I really just killed a man
Oh, God, disaster struck again"

Opening the first verse by sharing apt descriptions of himself, or at least the character he's portraying, Coleman explains that he's many things, including a warrior, musician and a young royal tracing his path.

Switching gears before heading into the chorus, he notes that, out of nowhere, he's committed murder. While he could just blame it on being carried away and drunk with power, he boils it down to one of the key truths of the human condition: disaster has simply stuck again.

"So what do you have to say about saints?
They're no better than the ones they say the world taints
If you're lookin' for a prophet, I'll tell ya I ain't
But I know when it's gonna rain
So what do you have to say about life?
The One we laid down to turn dark to light
The world let Him down, so He came around
When disaster struck again"

While it's difficult to grasp who exactly he's talking to throughout the chorus, he poses some opinions on revered saints and life on the whole.

Though they are suppose to be the most upright and holy of us all, Coleman notes that, in reality, these saints that we all praise and admonish are really no better than anyone else. Quick to add that he's no prophet, he follows it up by saying that he does know a thing or two about a thing or two.

Referencing Jesus and the story of the crucifixion, Coleman does a super quick biblical lesson about how He came down to save us but we all "let Him down." Yet, He will come back around next time disaster is bound to strike for humanity.

"I'm the wisest counsel
I can speak a mouth full
I got wives and treasures
And foreign gods for pleasure

Maybe I denied when I split up my tribe
That I was losing myself to sin
Oh, God, disaster struck again"

As we arrive at the second verse, one could infer that Coleman is now speaking from the perspective of a biblical character, but perhaps there are some parallels that can be drawn from these people of centuries old and us today.

Explaining that he clearly thinks he knows best and has no shortage of words to spew to whomever will listen, he also finds wealth, power and meaning in things of this world, as well as the things in life that he worships over God (money, fame, success, etc.).

Admitting that he's lost himself to sin over the passage of time, we see that, once again, disaster has struck society as we've valued material things over the Creator of the universe.

"My baby's callin', strength is fallin'
I don't wanna let you down
Crushed a lion to keep from dyin'
But all I've ever found is once again
We've all sinned
Disaster struck again"

Things are reaching a fever pitch for our narrator as he's found himself in a do or die state of mind, whatever means necessary.

In the end, we can understand that humanity's downfall and our ultimate destruction is unavoidable, but there is One who can save us.

"So what do you have to say about saints?
They're no better than the ones they say the world taints
If you're looking for a prophet, I'll tell ya I ain't
But I know when it's gonna rain
So what do you have to say about life?
The One we laid down to turn dark to light
The world let Him down, so He came around
When disaster struck again"

Ahead of the record's release, the band stopped by Bert Kreischer's celebrated Bertcast to talk all about their rapid rise to success, the making of Made By These Moments and more, including how 'Disaster' came to be.

As the band tells it, what started as an innocent guitar solo from lead guitarist Zach Rishel, eventually evolved into the album's first track.

"I definitely wanted 'Disaster' to start, just because of the intro," Coleman shared. "That was the first song we cut with [Dave Cobb]."

"We hadn't really worked that one up as a band before. Dave just kind of picked it out of the bunch that we showed him. We were going for this kind of Snykyrd-y, southern rock thing," Rishel added, explaining that he hadn't had any og the guitar part really written before he "panic guitar played," trying not to embarrass himself in front of Cobb.

Zooming out further, the band noted that "Made by These Moments shines a light on overcoming the battles we face in life like loneliness, depression and hopelessness." Underpinning the heart of the record as a whole, they added: "We hope you listen and recognize that our pain has a purpose.”

I'm a giant slayer
I'm a music player
I'm a young king walkin'
Now the prophet's talkin'

I don't wanna say I got carried away
When I really just killed a man
Oh, God, disaster struck again

So what do you have to say about saints?
They're no better than the ones they say the world taints
If you're lookin' for a prophet, I'll tell ya I ain't
But I know when it's gonna rain
So what do you have to say about life?
The One we laid down to turn dark to light
The world let Him down, so He came around
When disaster struck again

I'm the wisest counsel
I can speak a mouth full
I got wives and treasures
And foreign gods for pleasure

Maybe I denied when I split up my tribe
That I was losing myself to sin
Oh, God, disaster struck again

So what do you have to say about saints?
They're no better than the ones they say the world taints
If you're lookin' for a prophet, I'll tell ya I ain't
But I know when it's gonna rain
So what do you have to say about life?
The One we laid down to turn dark to light
The world let Him down, so He came around
'Cause He wanted us back again

My baby's callin', strength is fallin'
I don't wanna let you down
Crushed a lion to keep from dyin'
But all I've ever found is once again
We've all sinned
Disaster struck again

So what do you have to say about saints?
They're no better than the ones they say the world taints
If you're looking for a prophet, I'll tell ya I ain't
But I know when it's gonna rain
So what do you have to say about life?
The One we laid down to turn dark to light
The world let Him down, so He came around
When disaster struck again

Oh, Lord
Disaster struck again
Oh, Lord
Disaster struck again
Oh Lord, oh Lord
Disaster struck again

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For more on The Red Clay Strays, see below: