Is Zach Bryan a Bigger Deal Than Taylor Swift?
Memphis; The Blues, Pink Skies, Northern Thunder, and texting about the meaning of lyrics
"Are you sure?"
"Never have I ever before"
—Taylor Swift, August
We’re interrupting our summer break to celebrate the masterpiece that is Zach Bryan’s “The Great American Bar Scene.” No, Zach isn’t a bigger deal than Taylor, but I (Kody) recently proposed the idea to my wife. She put me in my place. Here’s how it went down:
Me: Is Zach Bryan a bigger deal than Taylor Swift?
Juli: What? No!
Me: He got The Boss on his new album.
Juli: Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks go to Taylor Swift concerts. And U2 sends her flowers when she comes to Ireland.
Me:
While he may not be Taylor status, it’s fascinating how Bryan has captured the hearts of such a wide age gap in American culture. From middle-school girls to middle-aged men, millions of fans stream his songs and pay over $300 for his sold-out shows. He recently dropped what has to be the album of the summer. In case you aren’t lost in it like you should be, Ben, Mat, and Kody are here to highlight a song from the album. We’re even throwing in a short Bonus Track about the people you go to for interpreting lyrics.
PS - Zach’s favorite Taylor Swift song is “August” from her Folklore album.
Ben | Memphis; The Blues (feat. John Moreland)
The Great American Bar Scene wins for features. It's quite the guest lineup - and while John Moreland is the least known (according to monthly Spotify #s) - he might be the best vocal fit.
On track 10, Bryan and Moreland sing about love and Memphis. I really like this song. I used to love going to Memphis to hear music (and eat ribs) - my college was 80 miles down I-40 from Beale Street, which was known for both. I don't know the story behind the song, but it's a place ripe for lyrics.
Speaking of lyrics, the first few times I listen to a song, I will often back it up to listen to a lyric again. I did this w/ Memphis: "We are the only ones left (perfect pause) who love Otis in this town... I need you (perfect pause) like Memphis, the blues." Changing metaphors, but that lyric was rich like a Memphis-style BBQ sauce.
When you come out of the first chorus, there's a short instrumental break and Moreland starts where Bryan finished. It is like a 4x100 relay team that practiced perfect transitions. It feels like big John is singing his own song - in fact - I double-checked to see if he contributed.
That's more commentary than you need on a song, but like I said, I really like this one.
Mat | Pink Skies (feat. Watchhouse)
When this album came out, the Swap guys talked about listening through it 5 times before forming an opinion. I enjoyed it from the first, but I thought it might be a tad bloated early on. I started listening for which song to cut and I couldn’t pick one. Then around listen 4 “Pink Skies” hit me like a ton of bricks. It helped me realize what a great songwriter Bryan really is. I teared up as I listened to the recollections of the narrator of his late grandfather. The line “If you could see ‘em now, you’d be proud, but you’d think they’s yuppies” is my favorite among a song packed with great lines.
Kody | Northern Thunder
I love three things about this song:
It speaks about hardship in life and longing for the good ole days, friends, home, and green grass, from the perspective of a man who “made a million dollars on accident,” funny enough.
The song features the best of Zach’s signature yell. I LOVE the first time he wails, “SMELL THAT NORTHERN THUNDER.” Also, the idea of smelling northern thunder is a beautiful way to articulate the longing for serenity.
The picking. There are occasions in the song where I hear a Prine-like sound, and that’s always a good thing for me. Also, the guitar tune played after the lyrics, “Well, I was supposed to die a military man, Chest out too far with a drink in my hand” is something patriotic I can’t put my finger on. Can you help me?
Give it a listen and let me know what you think! I would love to hear your favorite songs on the album too.
Bonus Track: Where to Go to Understand the Meaning of Lyrics (Better Than Chat GPT) by Kody Gibson
This is a short Bonus Track. I have a good friend, a best friend, who has written for the Swap. We call him Tree. It’s a long story. My guy Ryan is a sharp and quick thinker, so I go to him for a lot of opinions on stuff, including how to interpret music lyrics. He will tell you he’s not perfect, but who is? He’s fast at getting back to me and picks up on things I don’t see.
When it comes to discovering the meaning of lyrics, you could go the easy route. You could Google and find some article or Reddit thread about the meaning of a song. You could also get a quick novel of an interpretation from ChatGPT. But you know what you can’t get when you do it that way? Connection. Relationship. Human conversation. The next time you’re stumped about what a song means, text (or even better, phone) a friend. That’s where true music swapping happens. It’s glorious.
Here are some of Tree’s interpretations of a few songs from the new Zach Bryan album. These are copied and pasted from our text conversations. No editing or polishing.
28
I don’t think it’s that deep. He’s talking about turning 28 with someone he loves, he’s been basically a vagrant since 18 in the Navy on a boat port to port or on the road as a musician, so even being in New York or wherever he feels ‘home’ because of her. He hints at looking around the bar and everyone is younger than him, so maybe being with her gives him perspective and he suddenly looks around and doesn’t recognize anyone.
That’s what I took from it, the talk about the week being rough but ending on a positive note I didn’t really understand, but when I looked it up it was apparently a reference to his dog (named Boston maybe?) that he and his gf got (she’s from Boston) having a surgery that they didn’t know if the dog would make it but it did and they had gratitude. The dog’s surgery inspired the song. But the lyrics indicate contentment and gratitude about finding his girlfriend.
Mechanical Bull
Nostalgia.
Wild times at the rodeo with all of his friends, now they’re settling down and he’s just settling for a mechanical bull (in a bar, the whole album motif), a subpar substitute for the good ‘ole days of riding at the rodeo with all the guys. “Grass is greener in the heat of summer” probably another reference to “the good ole days” that were metaphorically summer. Alludes that while all his friends have settled down or are settling down he’s still a little rambunctious getting himself into situations, but he’ll figure it out. Kinda ends with him accepting the allegorical summer has ended and it’s fall and he’s gonna go to Texas or wherever and find a purpose.
Northern Thunder
This one pretty straight forward. (LOL, he let me fend for myself on this one)
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Kody Gibson curates content for the Music Swap. He’s going to see Charlie Crockett in concert at the end of July and is currently working on an NYC playlist for an August trip to the Big Apple. Any recommendations?
Alright, that was longer than we thought it would be. What Zach Bryan songs from the new album are you diggin’. We want to hear from you!
-TheMusicSwap
Alright! Fine! I'll add it to the list.