“ICE Is Gonna Come Bust Down Your Door” – Zach Bryan Teases Politically-Charged New Song, “Bad News”

Well, this is going to be divisive…

Zach Bryan is many different things. To some, he’s one of the most introspective writers of our generation. To others, he’s a narcissistic sociopath. As one of the leaders of today’s songwriter-first movement, he’s undoubtedly one of the most important figures in music today, whether you like it or not.

It’s fairly safe to say at this point that, for better or worse, the “Something in the Orange” singer does not really care about the public’s opinion of him. From his highly questionable fence-scaling stunt last month in pursuit of Gavin Adcock to his long history of social media tirades against seemingly anyone who comes across his feed, Bryan is no stranger to stirring up some controversy.

Though most of the controversy typically stems from his careless antics on social media, he’s bound to turn heads with his newly teased song, “Bad News.”

Despite the whirlwind of headlines Bryan has found himself getting swept up in over the years, his politics have never been the focal point of most. This is, of course, given the fact that he’s mainly either been apolitical in terms of the current happenings in the world or has taken fairly moderate stances on things such as the 2022 Bud Light boycott, where he criticized those like Kid Rock who posted videos of themselves destroying their already-purchased cans of the beer.

Much in the vein of Eric Church, Bryan has always existed as a pretty moderate, maybe slightly left-leaning voice in the genre, especially on social issues. But let’s be honest, nobody is asking Zach Bryan about his views on foreign policy. Undoubtedly more moderate than the likes of Jason Isbell and Tyler Childers on the left and Jason Aldean and Justin Moore on the right, Bryan hadn’t penned anything overtly political until now.

In the newly-teased “Bad News,” Bryan begins the song with a fairly standard verse by his standards, opening the song up by telling his woman he woke up missing her before dropping a potential reference to his viral 2023 arrest and calling the cops “cocky motherf******.”

“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 got
The generational story of dropping the plot
I heard the cops came
Cocky mother******* ain’t they?”

It’s the second verse of “Bad News” that is bound to raise a few eyebrows on both the left and right. Immediately, Bryan takes aim at the current ICE raids happening around the country, singing that they’re “gonna come bust down your door.” He then makes reference to his mentor and collaborator, Bruce Springsteen, later in the verse, noting that “The Boss stopped bumping” before proclaiming that the titular “Bad News” is the fading state of our country.

“And ICE is gonna come, bust down your door
Try to build a house no one builds no more
But I got a telephone
Kids are all scared and all alone
The Boss stopped bumping, the rock stopped rolling
The middle fingers rising and it won’t stop showing
I got some bad news
The fading of the red, white and blue”

Feeling somewhat out of left field from Bryan, given that he has yet to release an overtly political song yet, the teaser left me feeling kind of mixed. While I’m always one for artists to speak their mind about whatever they want, politically or otherwise, I can’t help but feel like the ICE line kind of comes out of nowhere, especially following the first verse.

It’s undeniably an example of being topical, but I don’t quite think it lands, coming across as a quick check mark reference to something that’s currently controversial.

Check it out here:

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The post “ICE Is Gonna Come Bust Down Your Door” – Zach Bryan Teases Politically-Charged New Song, “Bad News” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.