Posted by The album released in 2023 by Zach Bryan really marked the imagination of the American people. Its songs can be romantic; his poetics passionately explores life, emotions, and intentions common to many human beings in the modern world. We already analyzed I Remember Everything in this article. Today, we discover the meaning of another popular song from that album: Tourniquet. You’ll find the complete lyrics and the full streaming at the end of this article.
Tourniquet: the song lyrics & their meaning
Tourniquet is a romantic song about taking care of our loved ones. Zach Bryan uses the metaphor of the tourniquet, the medical tool used to stop bleeding, as an image applied to himself: the girl mentioned in the song is metaphorically bleeding, and with his care, he will stop her pain.
The girl in the song is symbolically bleeding because someone stabbed her in the back. It’s a cruel world, and that’s why Zach Bryan impersonates her tourniquet: he wants to be her safety net, her protection in this complicated world. With his love, his care, and his presence, he will heal her.
You’ve been stabbed in the back and the rest of your body
Won’t you tell me where you’re bleedin’ from?
If you need a tourniquet or if you wanna turn and quit
Know that I’ll be by your side
The blood is what makes us alive. By taking care of the girl’s blood, Zach Bryan is trying to preserve her life, protecting her from the pain and the trouble this world brings.
I bandage up your body and your bones and your bad days too
Take care of the blood that your love runs through
I know all the damage that some days in this dark world does
The central verse of the song opens to a new interpretation: it mentions someone who’s been playing guitar for a long time, getting old. In this part of Tourniquet lyrics, Zach Bryan could be singing to himself. From this point of view, he could also be the one responsible for ruining the relationship with the girl mentioned before.
You’ve been playin’ your guitar from arenas to the bars
Since you were old enough to rhyme a word
But your face is gettin’ thinner and you’re prayin’ for the winter
And I heard you f–ked it up with her
The meaning of the lyrics in Tourniquet is generally straightforward: I’m here for you; I can make you stop bleeding and cure your pain. Eventually, I am broken, too, and we both know what this world can do to us. A song about love, pain, and existentialism, perfectly expressing Zach Bryan’s poetry.
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The song streaming & the complete lyrics
There’s delays on the planes out of Eastern Montana
Where you told me you were leavin’ from
You’ve been stabbed in the back and the rest of your body
Won’t you tell me where you’re bleedin’ from?
If you need a tourniquet or if you wanna turn and quit
Know that I’ll be by your side
You bled your whole soul into things you can’t control
In a world you’ll never satisfy
I bandage up your body and your bones and your bad days too
Take care of the blood that your love runs through
I know all the damage that some days in this dark world does
You were laughin’ last week at somethin’ I dreamed of
When you finally feel the blood you spill into everybody else
I’ll tourniquet your toes to the ground
Pull you in and hold you tight, love you through the heart of night
Spring your kind a– into town
You’ve been playin’ your guitar from arenas to the bars
Since you were old enough to rhyme a word
But your face is gettin’ thinner and you’re prayin’ for the winter
And I heard you f–ked it up with her
I bandage up your body and your bones and your bad days too
Take care of the blood that your love runs through
I know all the damage that some days in this dark world does
You were laughin’ last evenin’ at somethin’ I dreamed of
There’s delays on the planes out of Eastern Montana
Where you told me you were leavin’ from
You’ve been stabbed in the back and the rest of your body
Won’t you tell me where you’re bleedin’ from
