musical analysis 2- Dawns- Zach Bryan
Dawns, sung and written by Zach Bryan and featuring Maggie Rogers, was released in 2023.
This song is not just any other country song. This song is about two different types of heartbreaks in one. He couldn't control one of the heartbreaks, and he decided on the other one. I never realized how deep the song was until I searched for what the lyrics meant. This song caught my attention when it first came out due to the catchy tune.
Lyrics- The song starts with him begging to have his dignity and belongings back from his ex, whom he feels has wasted his time. He also commented in the song that it was his mistake that she never cared about Jesus, so he must deeply care about his religion. Ann Powers does a great job describing how Bryan's vocals amplify the howling pain and heartbreak in the song.
Chords- During this song, four chords are used. The chords used are F, G, C, and AM. These chords are played on a guitar throughout the song. The song is also originally played in the A-Minor Key. The chords are simple and easy to play on the guitar, ukulele, and even piano.
Vocals- Dawns is primarily sung at a C major key with a major mode. His voice is very raspy as well, which makes this song great for him to sing about men's emotions during a breakup.
Melody- the song's melody starts with the background noises of ambulance sirens going into the slow instrumental guitar playing. The song starts slow, then slowly picks up speed as Zach and Maggie start singing. The middle of the song is faster than the rest of the song, and then the song slows back down to how the beginning was as he is asking for his dawns back.
Timbre- the song starts with the sound of distant ambulance sirens, which is explained since the song is dedicated in a way to his mother, who died of a heart attack, and the sirens were coming to get her. Then a slow guitar strum starts going in the music slowly as he reminisces about his mother and how he wasted his dawns on a girl who didn't have that time with his mother, and now he needs to heal. The guitar slowly gets faster throughout the song as he gets angry about his wasted days with a girl instead of his mom. All three versions of timbres are represented in this song as well.
You can listen to the song here dawns by Zach Bryan.
Sources
Bryan, Zach, and Maggie Rogers. “Zach Bryan feat. Maggie Rogers "Dawns" Sheet Music in C Major (transposable) - Download & Print.” Musicnotes.com, https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0280416#ProductDetails. Accessed 22 February 2024.
“Melody vs. Harmony | Definition & Differences - Lesson.” Study.com, https://study.com/academy/lesson/melody-vs-harmony-definitions-and-examples.html. Accessed 22 February 2024.
Powers, Ann. “In Zach Bryan's 'Dawns,' one person's ideal romance can be another's cage : #NowPlaying.” NPR, 27 January 2023, https://www.npr.org/sections/now-playing/2023/01/27/1152081352/zach-bryan-feat-maggie-rogers-dawns. Accessed 22 February 2024.
The lyrics to this song are very good. I'm sure every person that has been through a breakup have gone through this. The vocals are just beautiful. His raspy voice and Maggie's soft voice really complement each other. I like how the melody picks up at about the 1:20 mark. It kind of represents him moving on and giving up on the relationship. I haven't heard this song so thank you for introducing it to me.
ReplyDeleteI had to investigate more into the lyrics of this song because I do agree this is a heart break song and it’s telling a story and expressing both singers need to move on. I also did some research and I do agree they had differences and that was the religion aspect but Zach’s mom died in 2016, and this makes it much of a sadder song that I thought because of how expressive he is about missing his mom and how he is headed to see her. I think you did a great job with breaking down the lyrics and explaining the elements in the song. I enjoyed doing research on the lyrics because it is very sad yet it feels almost like a song of closure as they speak to one another. I do agree the vocals that Zach uses does make his voice sound more emotional by utilizing a raspy voice. Overall, I really enjoy your post and you did a great job!
ReplyDeleteI personally was not the biggest fan of this song, but with the way you explained it, it made me think of it differently and see it in a different light. I listen to Zach very very frequently and know almost all of his songs. His music has helped me in a lot of ways. Zach's voice in this song is different than most of his songs. I feel like theres a lot more emotion, and his voice is seeming to be almost more deep and raspy. I love his vocal range in this song, as it gets higher than normal at a few points, and also lower than normal at other points. I think his and Maggies voices pair extremely well together.
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