You know that feeling when a song hits the internet and suddenly everyone becomes a part-time detective? That’s exactly what happened when Zach Bryan dropped "High Road." It wasn’t just a random Thursday night in November 2024. It was the same night his ex, Brianna Chickenfry, was laying out heavy allegations of emotional abuse on a podcast. The timing was... well, it was loud.
But if you actually look at the high road lyrics zach bryan wrote, there is a much deeper, more tragic layer than just a "breakup song."
The Ghost of Oklahoma: Who is the "Someone That Ain't Ever Gonna Call"?
Most people see the chorus and think it's a shot at an ex. "I’ve waited by the telephone all f***in’ night / For someone that ain’t ever gonna call." On the surface, yeah, that sounds like a guy waiting for a text from a girl who blocked him. But Zach actually cleared this up himself on Instagram.
He wrote that he’d been away from home for a year and a half. He drove out to his mother’s gravestone in the middle of the night. That’s when it hit him. Like, really hit him. His mom, Annette DeAnn, who died back in 2016, was never going to call him again.
The Porch in Tulsa
The second verse is where the real gut punch lives. He sings:
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- "Remember tellin’ me I was gonna hit the big time?"
- "You died, guess you told God it was true."
- "Remember sittin’ on your porch... in Tulsa while the bad things took your brain."
That last line is brutal. It’s a direct reference to his mother’s health struggles before she passed. He isn't taking the "high road" against a girlfriend here; he’s trying to find his way back to the person he was before the stadium tours and the tabloid drama turned his life into a circus.
New York, Adderall, and the Brianna Chickenfry Connection
Okay, we can't ignore the first verse. It’s impossible. Zach opens the song with "Adderall and white-lace bras that makes you fall in love." He talks about leaving blue jeans in a pickup truck and how New York "ain’t good for me."
Honestly, if you followed his relationship with Brianna, these details are basically a map of their time together. New York was their hub. The mention of his friends lacking "self-control and empathy" feels like a bridge burned in real-time.
He even touches on the pressure to change: "Everyone is tellin' me that I need help or therapy / But all I need is to be left alone." It’s defensive. It’s raw. It’s classic Zach Bryan—refusing to be managed or "fixed" by the people around him.
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Why the Song is Called "High Road"
The title itself feels like a double-edged sword. Is he taking the high road by not responding to the podcast drama directly? Or is the "high road" literally those familiar Oklahoma roads he drove on to visit his mom?
Probably both.
Zach has this habit of mixing his current romantic mess with his deep-seated grief. It’s why his fans are so obsessed. You aren't just getting a pop song; you're getting a messy, unedited diary entry.
The Sound of "With Heaven on Top"
"High Road" eventually found its home on his 2026 album, With Heaven on Top. Unlike some of the more "muddy" or raw tracks he releases on YouTube or Twitter (like "This World’s a Giant"), "High Road" has a polished, studio feel. It features backing vocals from Heaven Schmitt of the band Grumpy, which adds this ghostly, ethereal layer to the chorus.
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It makes the "ghosts in the windows and walls" line feel a lot more literal.
What the Lyrics Reveal About His Future
There’s a specific line in his social media explanation that changed how people view these lyrics. He told his late mother (via the gravestone visit) that he was quitting touring because he got accepted for a Master's degree in Paris.
That gives the line "I'm home now and I'll hold you through the pain" a new meaning. He’s trying to quit the "big time" she predicted for him just to find some peace.
The high road lyrics zach bryan delivered aren't just about a bad breakup. They are about the exhaustion of being a superstar and the realization that the one person he wants to talk to is the one person who can't pick up the phone.
If you’re trying to understand the song, don’t just look at the TikTok drama. Look at the Oklahoma dirt.
Actionable Insights:
- Listen for the contrast: Compare the first verse (bitter, drug-references, New York) to the second verse (grief, Tulsa, mother). It shows the two worlds Zach is caught between.
- Check the credits: Notice Heaven Schmitt’s vocals; they are meant to represent the "ghost" mentioned in the lyrics.
- Read the 2024 Instagram caption: Search for his post from November 7, 2024, to see the full context of his visit to his mother's grave.