“Dawns” by Zach Bryan (ft. Maggie Rogers)
Although Zach Bryan’s “Dawns” does rely on a metaphorical motif, the message being relayed is pretty overt. And that is, most simply put, the vocalists portraying the role of lovers and by the looks of things regretting that they hooked up to begin with.
For example within these lyrics, “love” is presented as being “just another drug”. And the reason Zach and later on both he and Maggie Rogers make that comparison is apparently to point to the idea of being addicted to romance. Or viewed from a different angle, they embarked on this relationship for the wrong reasons, to fulfill a desire, if you will, as opposed to seriously contemplating whether the other party would make an ideal partner or not. And now that they’ve gotten to know each other, they realize that jumping into this romance heart first, in a manner of speaking, proved to be a mistake.
What does “Dawns” mean in Context?
The phrase “dawns”, as utilized in this track, is basically a synonym for days. So in the first verse, when Zach Bryan utters “I’ve wasted all my dawns on you”, that can also be taken along the lines of ‘I’ve wasted all my (days and night) on you’. Or in the chorus, when they both put forth “give me my dawns back”, that can be reworded as ‘give me my (days) back’. Of course they don’t literally mean all of their days but rather those which have been dedicated to this relationship.
In the pre-chorus, Rogers, who is the more artsy of the pair, also goes about utilizing the word ‘dawn’ in other colorful ways. But again, it all leads back to the concept of coming to the, shall we say painful realization that Zach isn’t for her.
Zach Bryan, raised in Oklahoma but a Fan of The Philadelphia Eagles
Zach Bryan was raised in Oologah, a small town in Oklahoma. Oklahoma is a state found just north of Texas, and just north of it is Kansas, so the closest (American) football teams would be the likes of the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs. However, it isn’t always that a football aficionado roots for the local team. And in the case of Bryan, he is in fact a Philadelphia Eagles’ fan.
The reason that information is pertinent concerning the release of “Dawns” is because Zach promised to issue the song if the Eagles won their NFL playoff game against the New York Giants that was held on 22 January 2023, which they did resoundingly. And the singer kept his word, as the track was officially made public a few days later, on January 27th.
The Artists at Hand
Zach Bryan firmly established himself as a country music star with the release of the lengthy yet well-received “American Heartbreak” in 2022. Maggie Rogers is an alternative artist who burst on the scene, bolstered by a co-sign from Pharrell, in 2016 with her hit single “Alaska“.
She and Zach co-wrote “Dawns”, and this is the first time they ‘ve collaborated. To note, Maggie doesn’t have her own verse in this song per se but does lead the second pre-chorus.
Meanwhile, Zach Bryan co-produced this track with a regular collaborator of his, Eddie Spear.
CONCLUSION
Zach and Maggie should be applauded for taking a well-worn musical concept – that of romantic disappointment – and going about putting a fresh metaphorical spin on it. But by the time all is said and done, lyrically “Dawns” comes off as more or less your traditional breakup song. However, in this case, there doesn’t appear to be anything like heartbreak being expressed. Or if so, it would be within the context of the vocalists being sad that they embarked on this romance in the first place.
