Oklahoma native Zach Bryan has responded after fans reacted to lyrics in a new song that appear to take a stand against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Oogalah, Oklahoma, country singer shared a teaser of his new song titled “Bad News,” which contains the line “ICE is gonna come, bust down your door.”
Many fans filled his comment sections with disdain for the song and the artist, but that’s not the stance he wishes fans to take from the song.
More: Oklahoma country star Zach Bryan takes aim at ICE raids in teaser for new song
According to Bryan, the song is more about how much he “loves this country and everyone in it more than anything,” he said in a post to his Instagram story.
He notes the song also has content that “hits on both sides of the aisle.”
“I wrote this song months ago. I posted this song three months ago as a snippet. This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media,” Bryan said in the post.
Bryan noted that the song was originally teased earlier in the year. The July post varied a bit from the seemingly studio version that was teased in October.
In July, Bryan posted a rawer recording of the song with only the sounds of his guitar strumming and his vocals.
In the comment section, which is now occupied by more recent comments, received a mixed set of reactions during the original posting.
Bryan continued to share on his Instagram story, that using his song as a “weapon” is “only proving how devastatingly divided we all are.”
“We need to find our way back. I served this country, I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space. I wasn’t speaking as a politician or some greater-than-thou [explicative], just a 29-year-old man who is just as confused as everyone else,” Bryan said.
Who is Zach Bryan?
Zach Bryan, 29, was born in Okinawa, Japan to U.S. Navy parents. He moved to Oolagah, Oklahoma, where he began writing songs as a teenager and formed his Red Dirt roots.
He went on to serve in the U.S. Navy and, while on leave from duty, dropped his debut album “DeAnn.” Since then, Bryan has continued to become one of country music’s big names.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Zach Bryan responds after new song condemning ICE divides fans