Oh how time flies.
Saturday, January 26, 2024, marks the one-year anniversary of Zach Bryan releasing his surprise collaboration with Maggie Rogers, Dawns.
For those unaware, Bryan teased the track all the way back on November 14, 2022, on TikTok when he shared a video of him playing a rough version of the first two verses on the piano and guitar.
The post quickly blew up on social media, garnering over 3.2 million views, 513,000 likes and 47,000 saves as of writing. This prompted fans to beg for its release.
Some of the comments included “release it father,” “Mr. Bryan I’m gonna need this asap” and even the Denver Nuggets’ official account saying “Babe wake up. Zach Bryan posted a banger.”
Like most Zach Bryan teasers, the track stayed at the forefront of many listeners’ minds for the following months.
Fans clamored for the song so much, in fact, that on Jan. 17, Bryan took to Twitter to say that he would release Dawns on one condition: If the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional Round playoff game.
The heavily favored Eagles proceeded to manhandle the Giants 38-7 four days later, prompting an official announcement for Dawns‘ release, as well as a thank you post to the Philadelphia football team.
The now RIAA certified platinum track dropped five days after that tweet. What fans didn’t expect, however, was the fact that budding alternative star, Maggie Rogers, would be included in the song.
While Dawns might not be considered to many as traditionally country, it is undoubtedly one of his best songs to date. The track exists as a unique blend of country, folk and alternative, continuing Bryan’s experimenting between genres.
Written by both Bryan and Rogers, Dawns provides two unique perspectives on the central failed relationship. These perspectives can be seen most clearly in the two unique choruses helmed by Bryan and then Rogers.
“And by the time she wakes, I’ll be halfway to my mama’s home
It just dawned on me, life is as fleeting as the passin’ dawn
And it was my mistake ’cause she never said a thing about Jesus
I miss my mother’s southern drawl and her prayin’ through the walls in the evenin’“
“And by the time he wakes, I’ll be halfway to my best friend’s home
It just dawned on me, life is as fleeting as the passin’ dawn
And I shoulda told him twice, I believe in something bigger than both of us
I miss goin’ out to bars, shootin’ stars, not worryin’ ’bout what’s left of us“
This key perspective-switch begs the listener to ask the question, “Who was in the wrong?” It’s one of those songs that truly doesn’t have a definitive answer, and that’s the ultimate beauty of it.
Dawns leaves the interpretation up to the listener, almost begging you to take a side. Bryan makes his case in the first verse and chorus by saying that he relies on his vices to cope with the broken relationship, citing that she “never said a thing about Jesus.”
Rogers, however, flips this narrative in her chorus, citing that she believes in “something bigger than both of us” and misses “not worrying ’bout what’s left of us.”
This results in a beautifully complicated song depicting a broken relationship where the narrative doesn’t truly add up. However, that’s exactly the point of it. It’s two biased perspectives of a relationship clashing together to form one, incredibly poignant song.
Listen to it here: