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

One of the most buzzed about bands in the country music universe, The Red Clay Strays, have had a tumultuous rise to success.

Established in 2016, the five-piece from Mobile, Alabama had a quiet first few years until their viral hit, 'Wondering Why,' rocketed to the top of charts all around the world in 2023.

Now, with the arrival of their new record, Made by These Moments, the group find themselves at a unique position that's put them on major festival bills across the country, as well as on a sold out headlining run throughout much of 2024.

The tenth song on the album, 'Moments', is where you'll find the title track, doused in hopeful and downright spiritual rhetoric that perfectly encapsulates the project as a whole.

Weighing both the hard times and good that we experience throughout our life, 'Moments' explains that it's in these split seconds of life – both positive and negative – that we discover who we truly are.

Produced by revered creator and musician Dave Cobb, just like the other ten tracks on Made by These Moments, it's a song that finds The Red Clay Strays at their very best.

With their now signature acoustic guitar and bluesy electric strumming along, all five members eventually join in chilling unison, all playing their role yet also each having their moment to shine. Mixing together lead singer Brandon Coleman's southern drawl with a calming, bluesy sound, it's a four minute jam session that rivals that of bearded wonder Chris Stapleton in all the best ways.

As Coleman growls and croons with a conviction not often heard across the country genre, 'Moments' rattles your bones and makes you feel as though you're sitting in the studio with them as they recorded.

"I've had love and I've had heartbreak
I've walked tall and proud and fallen on my face
I've seen babies grow and loved ones pass away
I've felt a sense of pride and oh, ho I've been shamed
There's joys and trials as we walk down every mile"

The song opens with Coleman juxtaposing the common things we experience throughout our life. Underlining the basis of the human condition, he notes that he's experienced both love and heartbreak, as well as pride and shame as he's gone through life in his own way.

From seeing new life begin with the birth of babies to watching his friends and family pass away from old age, 'Moments' covers the whole of our time on earth in a matter of five lines as he explains that with every day and every mile, we experience both joys and trials along the way.

"I've been holding onto something
This all can't be for nothing
We're all made by these moments
I've been hanging on and hoping that nothing's ever broken
We're all made by these moments"

As we get into the chorus, we're met with a feeling of faith and spirituality that is threaded throughout the record as a whole.

Essentially saying that our lives and our existence have to be for something or otherwise it all means nothing, he shares that it's this hope and belief that he grasps onto when everything feels like it's falling apart.

Taking it further, he shares that it's in these moments, whether they be the highs of life or the lows, that make us in the end as we constantly grow and evolve into the best versions of ourselves.

"I've been full of life, I've been full of fear
I've wanted to be seen and wanted to disappear
So the story goes
There's always highs and lows
There's things you can't explain like finding beauty in the pain
There's joys and trials as we walk down every mile"

Diving into more of the internal struggles we face in life, he mentions the mix of vitality and fear he's experienced, as well as the desire to be seen and other times wanting to disappear altogether.

Taking a more optimistic turn, though, he offers that no matter how hard we try to avoid it, there will always be both highs and lows that we encounter, and there is also a glorious opportunity to take those dark moments and find beauty amidst them anyway.

"I've been holding onto something
This all can't be for nothing
We're all made by these moments
I've been hanging on and hoping that nothing's ever broken
We're all made by these moments"

While The Red Clay Strays have been out and about on their sprawling 2024 tour dates, they've taken the opportunity to test out some of the tracks from Made by These Moments on the road.

During a show at The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee, they shared 'Moments' with the sold-out crowd. Before doing so, Coleman shared: "[We sing songs] about going through a lot of hard times and shutting down. This song is about going through all that stuff and realizing that it's the bad things that happen to you that make you the person that you are."

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've had love and I've had heartbreak
I've walked tall and proud and fallen on my face
I've seen babies grow and loved ones pass away
I've felt a sense of pride and oh, ho I've been shamed
There's joys and trials as we walk down every mile

I've been holding onto something
This all can't be for nothing
We're all made by these moments
I've been hanging on and hoping that nothing's ever broken
We're all made by these moments

I've been full of life, I've been full of fear
I've wanted to be seen and wanted to disappear
So the story goes
There's always highs and lows
There's things you can't explain like finding beauty in the pain
There's joys and trials as we walk down every mile

I've been holding onto something
This all can't be for nothing
We're all made by these moments
I've been hanging on and hoping that nothing's ever broken
We're all made by these moments

And in mysterious ways
Even on the hardest days
There's solid ground I'm standing on

I've been holding onto something
This all can't be for nothing
We're all made by these moments
I've been hanging on and hoping that nothing's ever broken
We're all made by these moments

Oh, these moments
Yeah, we're all made by these moments
Oh, all made by these moments

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For more on The Red Clay Strays, see below: