“Northern Thunder” by Zach Bryan – Lyrics and Meaning

A recurring theme in Zach Bryan’s newly released The great American bar scene. It is a loss.

Many of the album’s elements allude to the loss or displacement of something that was essential to the artist. Perhaps because his meteoric success has been marred by disillusionment, or perhaps other personal losses have rocked his path recently, the hitmaker’s new album is filled with a desire to seek out and replace what was lost.

“Northern Thunder” is one such track, a homesick serenade about how life often ends differently than originally planned.

With a twinkle of timid strings and gusts of whiny steel, “Northern Thunder” comes to life. It’s a simple but effective melody that allows the song’s poignant words to seep into the delicate arrangement. The song continues steadily in this way, only building to lively sounds and explosive rhythms in the chorus, when the emotions rise and overflow.

“Lovesickness, homesickness, tired of traveling
There’s a reason why all the boys sang the blues back then
And please don’t ask me how the last few years have been
Mom, I accidentally made a million dollars”

In “Northern Thunder,” the artist struggles with fame, is exhausted from traveling, and needs a home. The last few years have been exhausting for the star, who only wanted to make music because he loves it. But now he seems trapped in the demands of his own fame.

“Well, I should die as a soldier
Chest too far out with a drink in hand
But I have people who like to listen to my rhymes
I keep thinking about thunder under metal roofs”

He had previously had a vision for his life: he had grown up in a military family and had served in the United States Navy himself. But at some point, people started to like his music and suddenly the songs he sang were no longer for his own enjoyment.

“Why does everyone act like they’re not human?
Take me back to the green grass and tell me what I do
Because I just need a friend now
Sit nearby until daylight is out
That wasn’t my week, that wasn’t my year
And I hate to admit it, but I just need you here.”

In the song he asks to be taken back to the “good old days”, back to“green grass and know what I’m doing.” They have been long, fast years with countless changes and he seems to long for something familiar – for a home, a friend, for the way things used to be.

“So close your eyes
Do you think back to when you were younger?
Don’t you want to rest your mind?
Smell the northern thunder
So close your eyes
I pray that you see these memories
The way this life obscures everything you once were”

Life, with its twists and turns, can so easily obscure our view of what is essential and make it difficult to look beyond certain trials.

The artist asks anyone who can relate to this to take a minute and think back to a time before everything became so difficult. He asks them to remember the dreams they once had and the moments that made them who they are today.

You can “Lovesickness, homesickness, tired of traveling” and able to pity with “all those guys from back then” who sang the blues, but only “rReflect / And smell the thunder of the north.“

Bryan recently wrote the foreword to The great American bar scenein which he goes into some of the finer details of the record. He explains: “Making this album was a real challenge for me and everyone close to me.”

Although “Northern Thunder” is not explicitly mentioned in the text, it does address how deeply personal the project was for the artist.

“It took me to my end and my beginnings,” he continues. “I’ve seen the lights of Paris despite promising not to for ten years, driven down the coast of Australia with a beautiful woman, been locked in a pub in Ireland until 7am, walked down my favourite street in New York over a hundred times, thought I was going to bleed to death in a field in Tennessee, spent a few hours in handcuffs, hugged my grandma more than a few times, laid in the grass of my mother’s hometown, sang ‘State Trooper’ in a bar south of Boston and written something I feel is important. I wrote and produced all of that with the help of some really good friends. I finally felt like I was making music again. If you don’t like it, I’ll assume it’s not meant for you. Grab your beer despite tears and fears, ‘the great American bar scene.'”

Lovesickness, homesickness, tired of the streets
There’s a reason why all the boys sang the blues back then
And please don’t ask me how the last few years have been
Mom, I accidentally made a million dollars

Well, I should die as a soldier
Chest too far out with a drink in hand
But I have people who like to listen to my rhymes
I keep thinking about thunder under metal roofs

Why does everyone act like they are not human?
Take me back to the green grass and tell me what I do
Because I just need a friend now
Sit nearby until daylight is out
That wasn’t my week, that wasn’t my year
And I hate to admit it, I just need you here

So close your eyes
Do you think back to when you were younger?
Don’t you want to rest your mind?
Smell the northern thunder
So close your eyes
I pray that you see these memories
The way this life obscures everything you once were

So close your eyes
Do you think back to when you were younger?
Rest your mind
And smell the northern thunder
Don’t you want to close your eyes?
Remember how it used to be
The way this life blackens all your memories of youth

Lovesickness, homesickness, tired of the streets
There’s a reason why all the boys sang the blues back then

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For more information about Zach Bryan, see below: