Pink Skies

Album

Single

Label

Warner Music

Genre

Country

Composer(s)

Zach Bryan

Entered Chart

Jun 8, 2024

Peak Date

Jun 8, 2024

Released

May 24, 2024

Pink Skies" is a country ballad about loss, family, and finding beauty in memories. Zach Bryan tells a tale of commemorating a loved one, thick with grief and poignant remembrances. The song unfolds like a bittersweet eulogy. We're thrust into the thick of a funeral preparation as Bryan urges loved ones to "dry your eyes" because "the kids are in town" to say goodbye. But grief intertwines with warm memories. Lines like "plenty nights under pink skies you taught them to enjoy" paint a picture of shared sunsets, a legacy etched in twilight hues. We get glimpses of the deceased through the speaker's words. Bryan imagines the deceased's reaction to their "yuppie" grandkids, a detail that brings a chuckle amid the grief. The second verse throws in a cryptic detail about a "river fight" and Jesus, leaving us hanging with questions. While speculation swirled about the song being a tribute to Bryan's mother who passed away in 2016, the artist himself has refuted the autobiographical angle. "'Pink Skies' wasn't inspired by my story," he told fans. "Every time I sing about someone dying people assume it's about my mom, this definitely was not. I just think all the dynamics in families are beautiful and interesting and generationally it's a really cool thing." The song incorporates harmony vocals from Watchhouse, a folk-pop duo comprising Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz. Marlin also plays the mandolin. Bryan previewed a portion of the song in an Instagram post on April 18, 2024, when it was identified as "Elegy." He released it as the lead single from The Great American Bar on May 24, 2024.

The kids are in town for a funeral
So pack the car and dry your eyes
I know they got plenty of young blood left in em
And plenty nights under pink skies
You taught em to enjoy

So clean the house
Clear the drawers
Mop the floors
Stand tall
Like no ones ever been here
Before or at all
And don't you mention all the inches
That are scraped on the door frame
We all know you tip toed up to 4'1 back in '08

If you could see em now
You'd be proud
But you'd think they's yuppies
Your funeral was beautiful
I bet God heard you coming

The kids are in town for a funeral
And the grass all smells the same as the day you broke your arm swinging
I'm that kid out on the river
You bailed him out
Never said a thing about Jesus or the way he's living

If you could see em now
You'd be proud
But you'd think they's yuppies
Your funeral was beautiful
I bet God heard you coming

If you could see em now
You'd be proud
But you'd think they's yuppies
Your funeral was beautiful
I bet God heard you coming

The kids are in town for a funeral
So pack the car and dry your eyes
I know they got plenty young blood left in em
And plenty nights under pink skies
You taught em to enjoy