'Get By' by Jelly Roll - Lyrics & Meaning

Come the 2024-2025 college football season, which kicks off this Saturday (Aug. 24), Jelly Roll's latest release will soon be inescapable.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the star had been tapped to deliver ESPN’s new anthem, set to soundtrack their coverage of the collegiate sport. And deliver, he did.

“There’s a powerful connection between music and college football and for more than a decade, the ESPN college football music anthem has been integral to the promotion of the sport while its release has marked the unofficial start to the season," ESPN's vice president of marketing, Curtis Friends, shared in a statement. "Jelly Roll is a talented, award-winning artist whose music speaks to the passion of college football fans across the country, and we’re excited ‘Get By’ will soundtrack the sport all season long.”

His impassioned new single, 'Get By', may be scoring a fall full of huddles, fumbles and touchdowns, but it's also a song for navigating life's ups and downs just as deftly as any yard line.

'Get By' has a surprisingly sparse arrangement. Opening in a rush of stark strums, the song starts off crisp and assertive against a relatively empty soundscape. Soon, a barrage of kick drum beats and sharp claps join in the flesh out what is set to be an easily interactive crowd-pleaser.

Even with the scattering of choral flourishes and tinny jangles throughout, 'Get By' has a simplistic sound but a strong one, a composition fit to take a tackle.

"I light every bridge I see, yeah, just to watch it burn
If you'd seen all the hell I've seen, it'd make your stomach turn
I think you know why I do what I do, when I do, mmm
I could tell some stories 'bout some things you won't believe
It takes more than an alter now to set this sinner free
I think you know how I try when I try, Lord, I try"

Like a lot of the offerings in Jelly Roll's repertoire, 'Get By' is a song about hard knocks. The artist's journey to stardom hasn't always been smooth sailing and his past of hard living often permeates his music.

Opening with his hallmark flame-licking imagery and mentions of sin, 'Get By' is transparent about the rockier roads we take in this life and the things we do to ... well, simply get by.

"I might drink a little
I might smoke a lot
Counting down the good times
Staring down the clock
Throw some hallelujahs
To the big man in the sky
Show up Sunday morning
Looking just like last night
Yeah, that's how I get by
Oh, that's how I get by"

In 'Get By', the artist details a litany of rough-and-tumble tendencies – the drinking, the drugging, the good-timing – and how he chases it all with a heavy dose of prayer for good measure.

These activities may come off a little counterproductive, but that's just how he gets by. He sings how he's walked a rugged road in bare feet, how he's been through hell and back, but still, he adds "No matter how far I come, I can't outrun my roots."

'Get By' may depict an existence that seems ugly to some, but it's the way of life he's familiar with, the life he understands and knows how to survive in.

"I might drink a little
I might smoke a lot
Counting down the good times
Staring down the clock
Throw some hallelujahs
To the big man in the sky
Show up Sunday morning
Looking just like last night
Yeah, that's how I get by
Oh, that's how I get by"

In the end, a Jelly Roll song isn't always going to be pretty, but you can guarantee it will always be real.

While Jelly Roll hasn't spoken specifically about 'Get By', the sport his new song soundtracks holds a special place in his heart. As a Nashville native, the star has been a diehard Tennessee Titans fan for most of his life.

He shared the details of a recent visit to the Titans' stadium on social media, explaining his lifelong love for the pro football team.

"Growing up in Nashville Tennessee my entire family has been Tennessee Titans fans since they came to Tennessee," he captioned the post, which included pictures of the artist and the team. "Even in my youthfulness I remember us watching the news as they predicted what names the future Football team might be called. I clearly remember my father (God rest his soul) Driving us down to Memphis, Tennessee to watch the first ever Tennessee Titans game. My father made sure to buy us PSL’s and Season Tickets. I remember walking into Nissan Stadium for the first game ever played. Back then it was called Adelphia Colosseum."

It's a tradition he's held onto, one he practices as the head of his own family now. "Just like my father did for me, I remember taking my daughter to her first Tennessee Titans game," he continued. "Every Sunday her and I still watch the Titans and if we aren’t together we text each other the whole game."

I light every bridge I see, yeah, just to watch it burn
If you'd seen all the hell I've seen, it'd make your stomach turn
I think you know why I do what I do, when I do, mmm
I could tell some stories 'bout some things you won't believe
It takes more than an offer now to set this sinner free
I think you know how I try when I try, Lord, I try

I might drink a little
I might smoke a lot
Counting down the good times
Staring down the clock
Throw some hallelujahs
To the big man in the sky
Show up Sunday morning
Looking just like last night
Yeah, that's how I get by
Oh, that's how I get by

Thousand miles of gravel, I've been walking with no shoes
No matter how far I come, I can't outrun my roots
I think you know why I do what I do, when I do

I might drink a little
I might smoke a lot
Counting down the good times
Staring down the clock
Throw some hallelujahs
To the big man in the sky
Show up Sunday morning
Looking just like last night
Yeah, that's how I get by
Oh, that's how I get by

I might drink a little
That's how I get by
Counting down the good times
That's how I get by
Throw some hallelujahs
That's how I get by
Show up Sunday morning
Smelling just like last night

I might drink a little
I might smoke a lot
Counting down the good times
Staring down the clock
Throw some hallelujahs
To the big man in the sky
Show up Sunday morning
Looking just like last night
Yeah, that's how I get by
Oh, that's how I get by
Lord, that's how I get by

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