Link copied
While Zach Bryan's fans keenly await the release of ‘Dawns’ with Maggie Rogers on Friday, in the meantime, the Oklahoma songsmith is keeping them entertained with a moving cover of Watchhouse's ‘Daylight’.
Zach posted a video of him performing the evocative track on social media, along with a caption that praised the Americana band's song.
He wrote, “thank you for this one @watchhouseband”, before adding an encouragement for fans to ”stream real words”.
This thinly veiled barb builds on Zach's increasingly anti-commercial rhetoric, with the singer-songwriter having recently taken his campaign against Ticketmaster up a notch through the announcement of his low-cost Burn, Burn, Burn 2023 tour.
In this new cover of Watchhouse - formerly known as ‘Mandolin Orange’ - Zach Bryan dials down the light, folky feel of the original track, and injects a new sense of gravity and depth.
By stripping the song back in this way, Zach showcases the lyrics that he pays tribute to in his caption (“Like vines on the willow / Serpentine killer, bound by his climbs”).
The song then glints in a brighter, uplifting light, as the protagonist celebrates the way that his lover has rescued him (“My search was unending /
And my soul was bare / And Darling, you came to me like a midnight flare /
Out of the ocean”).
As has so often been the case in the past - such as with Morgan Wallen's multi-Platinum rendition of Jason Isbell's ‘Cover Me Up’, for instance - a cover by an artist as popular as Zach can propel a relatively alternative song into the heart of the mainstream.
Although it's unlikely that Zach Bryan's take on ‘Daylight’ will feature on his upcoming studio album, Writers and Fighters, fans will no doubt welcome this chance to hear Zach performing this cover ahead of ‘Dawns’ being released on Friday, January 27.
For more on Zach Bryan, see below:
