A visceral reflection of some of our deepest emotions, Zach Bryan’s “Pink Skies” mourns, echoes, and craves for a time before the pains of grief.
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Stream: “Pink Skies`” – Zach Bryan
There it is. That delicate ache in the soul that beckons for release has found its voice and it speaks.
It is a bitter, somber call for the mind to speak to the heart and the heart to find its solace in the pastures and trees, birds and skies, and the blissful laughter of children in memories past. Here lies a plea and an echo of all that was and now is. And it is ready to come to terms with a loss, a memory, and a place all in one.
Country music singer and songwriter Zach Bryan gives us his most personal with “Pink Skies,” an all-out emotional single from his upcoming fourth studio album The Great American Bar Scene. Honesty finds a home in his lyrics, and it buries itself deep into his mind.
The kids are in town for a funeral
So pack the car and dry your eyes
I know they got plenty of
young blood left in ’em
And plenty nights under pink skies
you taught ’em to enjoy
It all begins with a funeral and as the emotional day drudges by, he prepares his listener by urging them to keep composure for the journey ahead. He sings of hope and mentions a sense of aspiration, longing, and a definitive yearning for the days that lie forth. There is a vitality here in the lyrics he presents, one that craves for the wisdom of those who passed but welcomes the coming night as he reflects on their lessons of joy amidst all the sorrow.
While it was never confirmed, it can be assumed that the song is an ode to his late mother who had passed away in August 2016. Bryan explores the intricacies of his emotions in this opening track and awakens a vivid honesty that can be defined as his most personal project yet. He delves into his subconscious and mourns his deepest memories as he recalls a funeral so visceral in his life, its pain still leaves a scar in the skies above.
So clean the house, clear the drawers,
mop the floors, stand tall
Like no one’s ever been here before or at all
And don’t you mention all the inches
that are scraped on the doorframe
We all know you tiptoed up to 4’1″ back in ’08
However, just as he begins to trench into the impressions of a past life, he also reflects on the erasure of it all. Bryan details the aftermath of this death, noting the life that lived within the clothes, rooms, and hallways being washed away in death’s wake. He reminisces on this pain, standing tall as he quotes, yet also acknowledges that life goes beyond simple physical attachment. These memories play out for him like a slideshow, occurring simultaneously in front of his eyes like an emotional time lapse as what physically remains of the individual is scraped from the mind.
If you could see ’em now, you’d be proud
But you’d think they’s yuppiеs
Your funeral was beautiful
I bet God hеard you comin’
Now comes the chorus – a belted out, lyrically impressionable harmony whose strums of guitar and emotionally vulnerable vocals stand true and warm amidst the rest of the song. This is no ordinary sense of heartbreak for the singer. “Pink Skies” is the pining for a regression of time, but also embraces the realities of a lived-in today in the echoing lines of memories that once was. He accepts the outcome, speaks to the deceased wholly and truly, and displays a lightness to the loss in his final chorus coda.
Released May 24th of this year, the single instantly became a fan-favorite and skyrocketed to the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100. According to Variety’s Chris Willman, this superstar is not tied down to the conventions of modern music – turning what he describes as a “grievous hit” into an all-around summer anthem. With its latest placement onto Bryan’s ongoing tour, the crowd’s reception of the single is nothing but rousingly joyous. Melancholia find’s place amongst those pink-hued summer skies and the Oklahoma-born singer takes it all in its somber glory and returns it to the crowd in Zach Bryan fashion– rowdy and spirited.
The kids are in town for a funeral
And the grass all smells the same
as the day you broke your arm swingin’
On that kid out on the river
You bailed him out
never said a thing about Jesus
or the way he’s livin’
If you could see ’em now, you’d be proud
But you’d think they’s yuppiеs
Your funeral was beautiful
I bet God hеard you comin’
Coming in at 3 minutes and 14 seconds, the next verse rebounds to those initial moments of remembrance. Back at the funeral with a stillness in his presence, Bryan brings up a kind of nostalgia that holds so much emotional weight it paints an image so vivid in the mind of all who partake. The listener is drawn to the past and brought along to live amongst the singer’s regrets and resignations. He is solemn in his reflection, but tender in his handling of emotions.
And as that same chorus begins to build like an overwhelming wave of sensations so fierce it’s almost untouchable, it also finds its fall in those brief acoustic riffs and harmonic runs. The track comes to a close by repeating the first verse, creating an outro just as evocative as a funeral can be. Those pink skies lie just above here, cherished in its illuminance, and reminding listeners that those memories, poignant and complex, will never wash away.
The Great American Bar Scene is set to release July 4, 2024 via Warner Records.
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Stream: “Pink Skies`” – Zach Bryan
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