‘Song For You’ by Zach Bryan – Lyrics & Meaning

As part of his three-track EP, titled ‘Streets of London’, Zach Bryan released the reflective track ‘Song For You’ on July 2, 2025.

As somewhat of a capture of his monumental three-night sold-out run at Phoenix Park in Dublin, and headlining weekend at London’s BST Hyde Park, the EP will likely always remind both artist and fans of a special summer of music.

Accompanied by ‘Streets of London’ and ‘River Washed Hair’, all three tracks had been teased by Bryan on his social media, however, none of them will feature on the artist’s upcoming album, Motorbreath.

With the artwork for the EP cover featuring a photograph of Bryan and friends at a show at Islington Assembly Hall in London almost three years ago, this release feels like a sentimental one for the ‘I Remember Everything’ singer.

The song starts with a long-held harmonica note, before piano enters the conversation and some guitar picking adds to the mix. Bryan’s love for harmonica seems to be pretty evident on recent releases as his pre-chorus melodies bring up comparisons to some of the artist's own heroes, like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

The Oklahoma singer-songwriter has also found his new stride with horns playing a big part on his songs, similar to releases from earlier this year, such as ‘This World’s A Giant’. This use of brass instruments is becoming a bit of a staple for Bryan. As we’ve seen from recent performances, they work well as part of his ever-growing live band too.

Although a melancholy mix, the track doesn’t feel empty or sparse at all. In fact, it only gets warmer as the song moves forwards. A falling melody in the chorus is reminiscent of earlier works from Bryan, and towards the end of the track, female vocal harmonies add a feeling of nostalgia to ‘Song For You.’

“It's rainin' out in Soho, you're tellin' me, 'Don't go'
Tucked outside a bar door, what are we alive for?
I could call a car or we can walk down the avenue
I wrote a song for you”

Setting the scene in Soho, New York City, our protagonist is pleading that this girl doesn’t leave. Bryan’s known for his songwriting skills, and he wastes no time in painting the picture of a girl "tucked outside a bar door" as the rain pours down in the city.

We all know what it’s like when we don’t want someone to leave, for a conversation to end or just to lose the feeling of someone’s company. Wanting just a little more time, this character is ready to take a walk, or wait for a car with her, all before he ultimately reveals: "I wrote a song for you."

“About that spot in Ireland, you got on the table when
That man played his sad songs for me and all my drunken friends
You danced there and I did too
That night, I wrote a song for you”

As the track takes a nostalgic turn, we learn that these two have a history that’s taken them far from NYC. A memory of this girl dancing on tables at a bar in Ireland as someone keeps the music going by playing his "sad songs".

Adding another personal touch to the track, those songs weren't just playing for anyone, but for "me and all my drunken friends", the track becoming more autobiographical by the second, as with many of Bryan’s songs, it’s likely that this one has captured a moment in his own life.

Clearly that night sparked some inspiration, because watching this girl dance on the table at a bar in Ireland (although it already sounds ready to be the focus of a song), was when this "song for you" got started.

“And you remind me of some old timey photo that I saw
In the doorway on a long day, in your black-lace bra
Started writin' when I met you, I'll be writin' when I die
This song for you”

Similar to the pictures that Bryan paints with his words, this girl is comparable to one of those romantic, old-school, black-and-white photographs. As she stands in her black-lace bra "in the doorway on a long day," she’s the kind of comfort that Bryan finds when he heads home.

In a beautiful sentiment of lifelong love and dreams of the future, he sings that this song started when the pair met, but he won’t stop writing it until the day he dies. That’s for life, right there.

“I heard you told your daddy 'bout some boy in the city
'He's Oklahoma trash, but he's real kind with me'
Does a boy get tired of playin' those tunes
But I wrote this song for you”

The chorus of the song sees things from the girl’s perspective for the first time as she tells her father about "some boy in the city"–that one likely being NYC. Although he’s flawed and far from perfect, his kindness shines through.

Although playing his songs can get tiring sometimes, he just can’t stop writing when he finds inspiration, and seemingly, this girl has inspired him endlessly.

"Deep within my lower spine, I see you drinkin' summer wine
At a venue out in Dublin, back when I said nothin'
Wish I'd said then the things I'm thinkin' now
I wrote a song for you”

Taking a visit back to Ireland again, Bryan recalls perhaps a more difficult memory as the pair are "out in Dublin", and he can’t stop thinking about all the things he didn’t say to her.

With Bryan releasing this track following his three-night epic at Phoenix Park in Dublin in June 2025, these events could’ve happened more recently than we initially thought.

“And all these people tellin' me I ain't what I used to be
But you've known me since I was naive and twenty-three
I could give a shit about what these people say I am
I wrote a song for you”

Taking a few steps even further back in the timeline of this relationship, Bryan sings about this girl knowing him since he was "naive and twenty-three". Despite being inundated by comments, judgments and interrogations from every direction, all he really cares about is knowing that this girl knows the real Zach Bryan–and guess what, in response, he "wrote a song for you".

“And I feel like a kid again when you start askin' questions
About my mama, Oklahoma, or the way I'm sleepin'
When they took the boy you knew, sold him for profit
I had you in my arms last night, but I lost it”

There’s now no doubt that this song is entirely autobiographical as he recalls his mother, who’s featured in many of his most reflective and longing songs, as well as his home state of Oklahoma. Being asked questions about his past makes Bryan feel "like a kid again". Whether that means his memories take him back to happier, easier times, or if it means that they’re questions he still struggles to answer, only he can tell.

Bryan hasn’t shied away from the fact that he struggles to see himself as “famous”, or with fitting in with the music industry and the line "when they took the boy you knew, sold him for profit" is perhaps the closest acknowledgment of how much he’s changed that we’ve heard from the artist. With a rapid rise to fame, the music world can be difficult to navigate, especially for someone who’s still learning to navigate themselves.

“Maybe you'll move on, do somethin' different
Find yourself a sober man who golfs and is Christian
But in everything I say and in everything I do
I wrote this song for you”

Even if this one doesn’t work out and she leaves for a more settled life, with a man who takes the easy road, Bryan knows that this girl won’t be leaving his mind anytime soon. After all, he wrote a song for her, and songs can last a lifetime.

Although we’ve heard snippets of the track before, the release of 'Song For You’ was a complete surprise.

During night one of his Hyde Park performances, the ‘Something In The Orange’ singer performed his new track ‘Streets of London’, and soon after the show, he took to social media to confirm that the song would be released the following Monday. In classic Bryan style, the post was accompanied with a “hope u guys don’t hate it.”

The song’s release was then delayed a little. In compensation, Bryan announced he’d be unleashing another track on the world: “Yoooo decided to put two songs out instead of just one so it’s gonna take an extra day!! Songs’ll be out Tuesday.”

Adding just one more track to the mix, ‘Song For You’ found its place on the EP. As he explained, “They are kind of just tunes that didn’t belong on the record, and they didn’t fit on an EP either, so I’m just releasing them to get them out into the world cause I love them.”

After a couple of weeks of career defining shows, Bryan must be filled with gratitude at the minute, as he added, “I love each one of ya!! Even the folks who talked mad shit all year.” We just hope he’ll keep releasing tracks like these ones.

It's rainin' out in Soho, you're tellin' me, "Don't go"
Tucked outside a bar door, what are we alive for?
I could call a car or we can walk down the avenue
I wrote a song for you
About that spot in Ireland, you got on the table when
That man played his sad songs for me and all my drunken friends
You danced there and I did too
That night, I wrote a song for you
And you remind me of some old timey photo that I saw
In the doorway on a long day, in your black-lace bra
Started writin' when I met you, I'll be writin' when I die
This song for you

I heard you told your daddy 'bout some boy in the city
"He's Oklahoma trash, but he's real kind with me"
Does a boy get tired of playin' those tunes
But I wrote this song for you

Deep within my lower spine, I see you drinkin' summer wine
At a venue out in Dublin, back when I said nothin'
Wish I'd said then the things I'm thinkin' now
I wrote a song for you
And all these people tellin' me I ain't what I used to be
But you've known me since I was naive and twenty-three
I could give a shit about what these people say I am
I wrote a song for you
And I feel like a kid again when you start askin' questions
About my mama, Oklahoma, or the way I'm sleepin'
When they took the boy you knew, sold him for profit
I had you in my arms last night, but I lost it

I heard you told your daddy 'bout some boy in the city
"He's Oklahoma trash, but he's real kind with me"
Does a boy get tired of playin' those tunes
But I wrote this one for you
Yeah, I wrote this one for you

Maybe you'll move on, do somethin' different
Find yourself a sober man who golfs and is Christian
But in everything I say and in everything I do
I wrote this song for you

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