Music artist Zach Bryan is responding to backlash after a clip from one of his songs was interpreted as critical of immigration raids, saying it was taken out of context and the tune is actually about his “love” of the U.S.
“I wrote this song months ago. I posted this song three months ago as a snippet,” the country music singer wrote in a statement posted on his Instagram stories on Tuesday.
“This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media,” he added. “This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything.”
The 29-year-old musician had originally posted part of his song, called “Bad News,” on social media last Friday.
Some of the lyrics in the portion he shared included: “And ICE is gonna come bust down your house, try to build a house no one builds no more, but I got a telephone, kids are all scared and all alone.”
Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem called Bryan’s song “disrespectful” to both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and “to this country.”
But Bryan defended his music in his Tuesday message, saying, “When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle. Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided, we all are.”
“I served this country, I love this country and the song itself it about all of us coming out of this divided space,” Bryan, a U.S. Navy veteran, wrote to his nearly five million followers.
“I wasn’t speaking as a politician or some greater-than-thou a‑‑hole, just a 29-year-old man who is just as confused as everyone else,” he said.
Saying he was both “embarrassed” and “kind of scared” by the reaction to it, the singer added, “Left wing or right wing we’re all one bird and American.”
“To be clear I’m on neither of these radical sides,” he said. “To all those disappointed in me on either side of whatever you believe in just know I’m trying my best too and we all say things that are misconstrued sometimes.”