'Like Ida' by Zach Bryan – Lyrics & Meaning

Between sharing new music online or teasing songs onstage while out on his Quittin' Time tour, Zach Bryan has given fans ample reason to salivate over his new album, The Great American Bar Scene, especially when it comes to a song like 'Like Ida.'

One of the tunes he offered up on his YouTube channel early this spring, the bittersweet acoustic serenade about barrooms and well wishes seems set to join Bryan's catalogue of poignant slice-of-life classics.

'Like Ida' is peppered with bright strings and crisp drum hits, the through-line of the sound is Bryan's steady hand, determinedly strumming an acoustic guitar, alongside the calculated strike of a snare and weeping pedal steel.

Layered on top of that is a sprinkling of spirited plucks from guitarist Chris Braun, whose skillful fingers work out an impressive addition to the dependable melody.

While there's no big theatrics or awe-inspiring displays of musicianship, it all makes for an affecting score to such a stirring tune.

"When you wake in the morning and I’m not by your side
just know that I’m halfway to Dallas
I’m stoned out my mind, I’m half buzzed
‘Bout full time since you left me to die here last August
When you make it to Nashville, you can tell by one hat tilt
That that shit just ain’t my scene
I like out of tune guitars, taking jokes too far
And my bartenders extra damn mean"

‘Like Ida’ seems set against the backdrop of some kind of departure, but whether it’s the artist who is leaving or perhaps a lover is uncertain.

While the singer himself is “halfway to Dallas”, he appears to be addressing someone who has sights set on Music City. He sings that he’s been stoned and drunk “since you left me to die here last August”, but ‘Like Ida’ seems far from a breakup tune.

It’s rather about a mere parting of ways as the singer sends nothing but well wishes:

"So roll where you’re rolling
I’ll be praying you’re fine
Wherever you’re going
Stay walking that line
‘Cause they’ll eat and they’ll spit ya’
But you’re not their fool
They don’t know ya’ like ida
Back home on barstools"

He bids this person farewell, praying they stay safe and on the straight and narrow while the two of them are apart.

"I’m out on the road, when I’m going I go
I make music with all of my friends
I miss your silhouette, catching coastal sunsets
And the sound of that rusty door hinge
But that days bound to come when I finish this run
And I’m rolling right into your arms
And that bullshit you see on the late night TV
is a long way from our beating hearts"

Despite his assuring words, so full of confidence because no one knows the person in question like he does, there are moments when he misses them and thinks fondly of the moments they used to share.

He expresses that once he’s through with the obligations of fame – the touring, the traveling, the constant strings of appearances – they’ll be reunited. Until then, though, that special someone will remain heavy on his heart and in his mind as he continues to wish them well.

"So roll where you’re rolling
I’ll be praying you’re fine
Go where you’re going
Stay walking that line
‘Cause they’ll eat and they’ll spit ya’
But you ain’t their fool
They don’t know ya’ like ida
Belly laughing on stools"

While Bryan hasn't shared specifics about 'Like Ida', he recently explained the creation of The Great American Bar Scene as a whole.

“The making of this album tested me and everyone close to me," he wrote in the album's preface. "It drove me to my ends and my beginnings. I saw the lights of Paris after saying I would for ten years, rode the coast of Australia with a beautiful woman, was locked in a pub until 7am in Ireland, walked my favorite street in New York over a hundred times, thought I was going to bleed out in a field in Tennessee, spent a few hours in handcuffs, hugged my grandma more than a few times, layed in the grass of my mother's hometown, sang ‘State Trooper’ in a bar South of Boston and wrote something that I think was important. I wrote and produced all of these with the help of some truly great friends. I finally felt like I's making music again. If you don't like it I assume it's not intended for you. Grab your beers through tears and fears, ‘the Great American Bar Scene’”.

When you wake in the morning and I’m not by your side
just know that I’m halfway to Dallas
I’m stoned out my mind, I’m half buzzed
‘Bout full time since you left me to die here last August
When you make it to Nashville, you can tell by one hat tilt
That that shit just ain’t my scene
I like out of tune guitars and taking jokes too far
And my bartenders extra damn mean

So roll where you’re rolling
I’ll be praying you’re fine
Wherever you’re going
Stay walking that line
‘Cause they’ll eat and they’ll spit ya'
But you’re not their fool
They don’t know ya’ like ida
Back home on barstools

I’m out on the road, when I’m going I go
I make music with all of my friends
I miss your silhouette, catching coastal sunsets
And the sound of that rusty door hinge
But that days bound to come when I finish this run
And I’m rolling right into your arms
And that bullshit you see on the late night TV
is a long way from our beating hearts

So roll where you’re rolling
I’ll be praying you’re fine
Go wherever you’re going
Stay walking that line
‘Cause they’ll eat and they’ll spit ya’
But you ain’t their fool
They don’t know ya’ like ida
Back home on barstools

So roll where you’re rolling
I’ll be praying you’re fine
Wherever you’re going
Stay walking that line
‘Cause they’ll eat and they’ll spit ya’
But you ain’t their fool
They don’t know ya’ like ida
Belly laughing on stools

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