'Northern Thunder' by Zach Bryan - Lyrics & Meaning

A theme has been recurring in Zach Bryan's newly released The Great American Bar Scene. It's one of loss.

Many of the album's offerings allude to the departure or misplacement of something integral to the artist's being. Perhaps because his skyrocketing success has become marred by disillusionment or maybe some other personal losses have rocked his journey recently, the hitmaker's new album is rife with the need to seek out and replace what's gone.

'Northern Thunder' is one such track, a homesick serenade about how life tends to end up different than the way you originally planned.

With a twinkling of timid strings and gusts of weepy steel, ‘Northern Thunder’ comes to life. It’s a simple but effective melody, one that lets the song’s poignant words penetrate the tender arrangement. Steadily, the song goes on like this. It builds into vibrant strums and explosive rhythms only with the chorus when emotions bubble up and spill over.

Bree Tranter, from much-loved Australian band, Middle East, provides ethereal backing vocals. The group reformed and opened for Zach during his 2024 Quittin’ Time tour.

"Lovesick, homesick, sick of the road, too
There's a reason all them boys back when sang the blues
And please don't ask me how these last years went
Mama, I made a million dollars on accident"

‘Northern Thunder’ finds the artist grappling with fame, worn from the road and in need of home. The last few years have been tiresome for the star, who only set out to play music because it is something he loves. However, he now seems caught up in the demands of his own celebrity.

"Well, I was supposed to die a military man
Chest out too far with a drink in my hand
But I've got folks who like hearing me rhyme
I think of thunder under metal roofs all the time"

Before this, he had a vision for his life, having grown up in a military family and served in the United States Navy himself. Somewhere along the way, though, people began to enjoy his music, and suddenly, the songs he sang were no longer for his own enjoyment.

"Why's everyone acting like they ain't human?
Take me back to green grass and knowin' what I's doin'
'Cause I just need a friend right now
Sittin' close until the daylight's out
It ain't been my week, it ain't been my year
And I hate to admit I just need you here"

In the song, he asks to be taken back to the ‘good ole days’, back to“green grass and knowin' what I's doin’.” It’s been a long, fast few years of innumerable changes and he seems to long for something familiar – home, a friend, the way things used to be.

"So close your eyes
Do you think of when you's younger?
Won't you rest your mind?
Smell that northern thunder
So close your eyes
I pray you see those memories
The way this life blackens all the things you used to be"

Life, with its twists and turns, can so easily cloud what's important and make it difficult to see beyond certain trials.

The artist instructs all of those who can relate to take a minute and think back to a time before things became so hard. He asks them to remember the dreams they once had and the moments that made them who they are.

You may be "lovesick, homesick, sick of the road too" and able to commiserate with "all them boys back when" who sang the blues, but just "rest your mind / And smell that northern thunder."

Bryan recently shared the preface to The Great American Bar Scene, in which he delves into some of the finer details of the record. He explains, “The making of this album tested me and everyone close to me."

While the text doesn't specifically name-drop 'Northern Thunder', it does touch on the deeply personal pursuit the project became to the artist.

"It drove me to my ends and my beginnings," he continues. "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’.”

Lovesick, homesick, sick of the road, too
There's a reason all them boys back when sang the blues
And please don't ask me how these last years went
Mama, I made a million dollars on accident

Well, I was supposed to die a military man
Chest out too far with a drink in my hand
But I've got folks who like hearing me rhyme
I think of thunder under metal roofs all the time

Why's everyone acting like they ain't human?
Take me back to green grass and knowin' what I's doin'
'Cause I just need a friend right now
Sittin' close until the daylight's out
It ain't been my week, it ain't been my year
And I hate to admit I just need you here

So close your eyes
Do you think of when you's younger?
Won't you rest your mind?
Smell that northern thunder
So close your eyes
I pray you see those memories
The way this life blackens all the things you used to be

So close your eyes
Do you think of when you's younger?
Rest your mind
And smell that northern thunder
Won't you close your eyes?
Think of what this used to be
The way this life blackens all your younger memories

Lovesick, homesick, sick of the road too
There's a reason all them boys back when sang the blues

--

For more on Zach Bryan, see below: