Top 5 Lyrical Moments on ‘American Heartbreak‘
While we head into June with a ton of mainstream country releases coming (Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Brett Eldredge), we need to talk about one of the biggest and buzziest albums of the year, Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak.
Zach Bryan is the next big thing and might be the next big sensation to hit country music. He’s a 26 year old Navy veteran (honorably discharge to go follow his dream of being a musical artist) with a rip roaring fanbase that pushed American Heartbreak to be the #1 album in country music and #5 all genre (with competing against HUGE pop/rap artists like Harry Styles and Kendrick Lamar releasing new music the same week and the week prior, respectively). The album had little to no label promotion as well from Warner and I feel like that’s by design. What Bryan has always done has been to let the music speak for itself and let his fans be the judge of it.
The whole album is absolutely fascinating, from it’s grassroots feel to the 34 (yes, you read that right!) songs, it has become the biggest story of the last couple weeks. The most interesting thing to me is the lyrical moments on this project. I’m a big lyrics guy and will take great lyrics over great production or vocals any day of the week. That’s what this album provides, far superior lyrics to anything else you will hear out of mainstream country music in 2022.
The Zach Bryan writing experience isn’t for everybody. It’s an acquired taste for sure. The writing isn’t perfect or succinct. It’s breathy and wordy and he crams the words he wants to use instead of using replacement words that could fit better. But that doesn’t matter to Bryan. His lyrics are also super personal and while that could be very off putting to those who aren’t familiar with him, it’s the single biggest reason his music connects with his fans. They don’t give two shits about how the song sounds, they want words that mean something to them.
With that being said, there’s lots of great lines on this album and Saving Country Music said it best, “Even on some of Zach Bryan’s more average tracks, there is still almost always a line or two that feels damn near like parable, or perhaps Shakespearean in it’s poetic potency, making the entire song seem that much more vital.” Today I want to explore this and talk about 5 of my favorite lyrical moments on American Heartbreak.
“Younger Years”
“Lettin’ go, movin' on
Keepin' strong and finding God
I find it awfully hard we made it here
A few good friends on the longest night
Gettin' high until we cry
Enjoyin' all the pain of younger years”
Younger Years is a banger of a track that encapsulates the thoughts and feelings of a 26 year old guy. It’s no surprise this one hits home to me (also a 26 year old dude). In the track, he talks about what sounds like a typical Friday or Saturday night partying with his buddies and his “Levi Jean Queen”, pondering how they got to this point and finding some amusement in all these drunken nights. He finds amusement in indulging their vices and coming to terms that while they aren’t making the best decisions, they’ll enjoy the repercussions of being young and dumb.
“She’s Alright”
“It's a shame when people ain't around to see
The smiles that they nurture, the laughter they breed
These people don't know me, and I don't plan on showing what I've seen”
“The moon in New York tonight was beautiful
I wish you were around to see it too
I'm so down that I could cry, why'd my best friend up and die like that?”
I know I’m cheating a little bit, but I didn’t want to separate these two sections of lyrics. As somebody who lost a parent who he considered his best friend, this song hits HARD. It’s a story of the narrator looking up at the sky and seeing the moon, knowing his mom (who died in 2016) is looking down, watching him, even in times of struggles (like where he’s throwing up on a corner in Philadelphia). The brutal honesty in this song ('“why’d my best friend up and die like that?”) gives a small feeling of resentment that his mother left this world too soon and as somebody who’s felt that feeling, it hits me in a way I haven’t felt since Kip Moore’s “Payin’ Hard”. Which is why it’s probably my favorite song off of American Heartbreak.
“Ninth Cloud”
“Look at me, so damaged and destroyed
With this world's plans and its ploys to take me out
I'm on a highway directly to the moon
With no plans on stopping soon, I'm leaving town”
”Them Christians are talking so often of coffins
No Heaven's could top this moment now
I've searched and I've found to get to that ninth cloud
You must trek through some dark and troubled ground”
Another lyric double dipper. Zach has a way of expressing youthful feelings of doubt and anxiety like no other. He’s upfront and honest about how he feels about himself, calling himself “damaged” where the world is going up against him. But he transitions to going on about being a target of the world’s anger to being able to take a second to appreciate the moment in the here and now on Earth. It’s a nice development for Zach to go from a party-goer to a more mature and wistful thinker.
“Mine Again”
“Well, I am mine again, every mistake that I made
And I ain't ashamed to say who the hell I am
'Cause I am mine again and I'm so damn glad I'm here
Talking strong, sober and clear, like I couldn't back then”
Confidence isn’t something always apparent on American Heartbreak. There’s a ton of lyrics and conversations on one’s own self-agony and anxiety, but there’s very few moments where the narrator is confident in themselves and “Mine Again” is the best moment for this on the record. Bryan has alluded to it being about overcoming an addiction to get back to reclaim being yourself again and it’s a really beautiful way of saying that. He refers to himself or his past self as his “fondest friend” asking him where he’s been and pretty much saying “Hey, don’t take it so hard on yourself. You’ve been through a lot and came out on the other side stronger'“.
“From Austin”
“Everyone I've ever loved has either left or died
Wish I was born with concrete shoes but I'm leavin' tonight
It's 'bout time that I left Austin, 'bout time you settled down
With a man who doesn't move as quick as the trains rollin' through town”
As the first huge release from this album, I would have thought that I would have gotten tired of “From Austin” by now, but I absolutely haven’t. Part of that is due to the restlessness nature of the song that has the narrator running from love and wishing he would stick around to be a better person for her. He wishes he could stick around and be that person, but the trauma of being left before (in past relationships and the death of loved ones) won’t let him stay. It’s an oddly refreshing take on an “I’m leaving” song that also incorporates him hoping his former lover finds somebody else that will treat her better than he could (that “I am just a sickness and you seem to be the cure” line is killer too).
So there’s some of my favorite lyrical moments on Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak. While listening to this massive 34 track project, it became so clear to me that the words are the money maker for Zach. His lyrics aren’t meant to be necessarily clever, they’re meant to be real. He says what he means and means what he says and that builds a whole lot of connection between him and the listener. If you’re intimidated about listening to this over two hour long album, I would say that maybe you can check out some of the songs on my list!
As usual, leave a comment or hit me up on social media. It's @marty_kurtz on Twitter.
