Who is ‘Pink Skies’ about?

Hot off his Grammy-winning success with his 2023 self-titled album, Zach Bryan is not slowing down. The lead single of his fifth studio album is already conquering hearts.

Titled “Pink Skies,” the track had previously been teased on Bryan’s social media and gone viral on TikTok under the title “Eulogy.” By his own admission, the country artist “[writes] and [records] music reckless and fast,” and continuously lets his listeners in on his creative process by sharing acoustic snippets online.

Bryan’s forthcoming album will be titled The Great American Bar Scene and despite the absence of an official release date, the “Something in the Orange” singer-songwriter promises it is finished and “it’ll be dropped on someone’s head any day now.” He has teased multiple unreleased records that could be a part of the new album, including “28,” “Like Ida,” “Sandpaper,” and “God is a Funny Man.”

Zach Bryan’s “Pink Skies” meaning, explained

Because “Pink Skies” describes the day of a family funeral, many interpreted it to be about Zach Bryan’s mother, Annette DeAnn Bryan, who passed away in 2016 when she was only 49.

The now 28-year-old country artist named his debut, self-produced album DeAnn after his mother but has said “Pink Skies” is about someone else. “‘Pink Skies’ wasn’t inspired by my story,” he told his followers on X. “Every time I sing about someone dying people assume it’s about my mom, this definitely was not.” The singer explained that he’s fascinated by family dynamics in general. “Generationally, it’s a really cool thing,” Bryan shared.

Many fans have adopted the track to fit their own experience, filling the comment sections on social media with their stories. “It’s my daddy’s birthday today and we just lost him. Thank you, Zach. He won’t be at the show next month in person – but he’ll be there in spirit,” one fan shared, while another added “My grandpa passed when I was just a young crazy boy. I became a drug addict.. now I’m 26 been clean for 7 years and married..what great lyrics.”

A lot of Bryan’s success has been thanks to his music’s simultaneously personal and universal quality and “Pink Skies” is just the latest example.