Like many of the songs Jelly Roll has already released, “Winning Streak” is a message of support to anyone struggling with addiction.

This time around, though, the singer specifically addresses anyone in the throes of a battle with alcohol. His new song speaks from the perspective of a newly-sober alcoholic walking into his first-ever Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting, full of doubt and shame about his out-of-control relationship with alcohol.

Jelly explained the story behind “Winning Streak” in an interview with the New York Times in summer 2024, saying that it was inspired by a real-life exchange he once witnessed at an AA meeting.

“This kid, he’s going through it,” the singer remembered. “One of the old men sitting there was like, ‘Look, man, it’s all good. Nobody came here on a winning streak.’ It was such a beautiful thing.”

Jelly has been open in the past about his experience with substance abuse. A one-time drug dealer who served jail time on drug charges, Jelly has gotten clean from substances like cocaine and pain pills. He attends AA meetings to help his recovery program, despite the fact that he still drinks alcohol.

“I never share, I just sit quietly and appreciate the message and the meaning,” he told the New York Times, explaining that he usually doesn’t broadcast the fact that he attends AA. “It’s not a part of my story that I share because I have so much respect for the men and women in the program that get actually completely sober, that I never want my stuff to get in the way of them,” he clarifies.

Read More: Jelly Roll + More Stars Who Have Sung About Opioid Addiction

Jelly performed “Winning Streak” as part of his Saturday Night Live debut on Saturday (Sept. 28), in an appearance that also featured “Liar.” Both songs are expected to be included on Jelly’s upcoming album, Beautifully Broken, which is due out on Oct. 11.

Jelly Roll, “Winning Streak” Lyrics:

The broken past of a bottle makes a jagged rock bottom / Right now I got two shaky hands, only one way to stop it / And I haven’t touched a drop in seven hours, three minutes / Hardly sobered up, already wanna quit quittin’ / Sweatin’ in an old church basement / Wishin’ I was wasted/ I never thought I’d say this

Hello, my name’s Jason

Chorus:

I’ve been losing myself, I’ve been losing my mind / I’ve been standin’ in the rain just tryin’ to stay dry / I was so ashamed to be in this seat / ‘Til I met a man who was 20 years clean / He said, ‘Everybody here’s felt the same defeat / Nobody walks through these doors on a winning streak.’

Hold on, hold on / Just hold on

Broken man in the mirror can’t look at me ’cause he’s guilty / And I swear for the last couple months that mother f–ker tried to kill me / ‘Bout the time I saw it coming it was done with already / It’s hard to run from it when it runs in the family / A problem with the thousand more it’s causing / Man, it’s all exhausting / This is why I walked in

Repeat Chorus

I’m tired of being broken / I’m sick of feeling hopeless / Way down here at my lowest / At the end of my rope / At the end of my road

So what do I do? / So what do I do? / What do I do?

Repeat Chorus

Hold on / Hold on, hold on / Hold on