The Fading Of The Red White And Blue Zach Bryan Lyrics
Didn’t wake up dead or in jail
Some out-of-town boys
been giving us hell
I got some bad news
I woke up missing you
My friends are all degenerates
but they’re all I’ve got
The generational story
of dropping the plot
I heard the cops came
cocky motherf–kers
ain’t they?
And ICE is gonna come
bust down your door
Try and build a house
no one builds no more
but I got a telephone
Kids are all scared and all alone
The bar stopped bumping
the rock stopped rolling
The middlе fingers rising
and it won’t stop showing
Got some bad news
thе fading of the
red white and blue
The Fading Of The Red White And Blue (Meaning) Lyrics
“Didn’t wake up dead or in jail
Some out-of-town boys
been giving us hell”
Meaning: Feels like he’s just glad to still be standing. Like, life’s rough lately, but he made it through the night without getting locked up or worse. Those “out-of-town boys” probably mean some outsiders coming in, causing trouble in a place that used to feel safe.
“I got some bad news
I woke up missing you
My friends are all degenerates
but they’re all I’ve got”
Meaning: This hits on that personal pain. The “bad news” ain’t about the world or the headlines, it’s about missing someone so bad it ruins your whole morning. And yeah, his friends might be wild or messed up, but at the end of the day, they’re all he really has. That’s kinda sad but also real.
“The generational story
of dropping the plot
I heard the cops came
cocky motherf–kers
ain’t they?”
Meaning: This part feels bigger than just him. Like, maybe he’s talking about how our whole generation is kind of lost. “Dropping the plot” sounds like we forgot what matters, or just gave up on the story we were supposed to follow. Then the bit about the cops, it’s like he’s calling out the way they show up, act tough, but maybe don’t actually help.
“And ICE is gonna come
bust down your door
Try and build a house
no one builds no more
but I got a telephone”
Meaning: That first line’s heavy. Real fear for a lot of people. ICE showing up unannounced, breaking families apart. Then the next line feels symbolic, like trying to make something real in a time where no one really builds lasting things anymore. But he still has a phone, maybe meaning there’s still a way to connect, still a thread of hope or contact with someone out there.
“Kids are all scared and all alone
The bar stopped bumping
the rock stopped rolling
The middle fingers rising
and it won’t stop showing”
Meaning: This paints a sad picture. Like the younger generation is growing up scared, isolated. Even the stuff that used to bring joy or distraction, like bars and music, has gone quiet. And now people are just mad. That anger’s rising and people ain’t even trying to hide it anymore. It’s on full display.
“Got some bad news
the fading of the
red white and blue”
Meaning: This ties it all together. It started personal, but now the “bad news” is national. The flag fading means more than just politics, it’s about losing pride, identity, maybe even hope in what the country used to mean. Feels like watching something you once believed in slowly fall apart.
