“Hey, Be a Man Now”: Zach Bryan Shares How His Mother's Death Changed His Outlook on Life

Ever since he first broke out in 2019 with his refreshingly raw, vulnerable and rough-around-the-edges album, DeAnn, Zach Bryan has served as a lustrous beacon of light for those struggling with grief, depression and their mental health in general.

Bryan has injected a level of visceral openness into country songwriting that had been largely absent from the radio in the 2010's, with the ‘Something in the Orange’ hitmaker drawing from the likes of Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell as he forged his path.

DeAnn was named after Bryan's mother, Annette DeAnn, who passed away three years prior, with the title-track acting as a powerful homage to his beloved mom. Since then, the Oklahoma native has regularly reflected on his relationship with his mother and the various lessons she passed onto him through a number of moving releases, such as ‘Godspeed’, ‘Sun to Me’ and ‘November Air’.

On the latter, he touches on the alcoholism his mother had struggled with, before addressing her in Heaven (“Dear Ma, how's it goin'? / Was the weather fair last week? / Dear Ma, they were wonderful / All of the sights you'll never see / And dear Ma, if I could hold you / I'd grab you by the arms, tell you what it means / You could take a worthless poor boy from the flats / And make him mean something”).

Despite being a very private person - particularly in recent years, in light of his various controversies and criticism online - Bryan's willingness to touch on his grief in this format remains a crucial outlet for many listeners going through similar experiences.

During an insightful 2022 interview with The New York Times, the ‘I Remember Everything’ singer-songwriter candidly explains how his mother's death changed his perspective on life, with Bryan feeling a newfound sense of responsibility.

Bryan muses, “It opened that thing in you that’s like, Hey, be a man now’”, before shedding light on why he doesn't feel a need to discuss his grief outside of his music, “People say I repress. And I’m like, no, the person that I want to tell all this stuff to is dead. And you don’t deserve me weighing in on my feelings to you”.

In the same feature, Bryan's sister, MacKenzie Taylor, describes how the country chart-topper “learned from our mom how to put a mask on,” qualifying this by stressing that his upbringing in the South led to him becoming adept at shielding his feelings, “And he’s a dude in Oklahoma - he’s not supposed to have emotions”.

Thankfully, though, the Navy veteran found an outlet for his frustration and despair in music, through which he continues to inspire listeners with his candour and honesty.

During his more recent conversation with one of his idols, Bruce Springsteen, for Rolling Stone, Bryan opened up about his decision to name his debut album after his mother, “That's why I released DeAnn, for my mom...she had passed away and I was like, ‘How do I keep her name alive?’ That's why I thought songs would keep her name alive forever, which was cool. And that's not like a sympathetic thing, either, I was like, ‘How do I keep her name around my own life forever?’”

While we appreciate Bryan's willingness to delve into the pain he felt from his mother's death, and his continued efforts to normalise discussions around men's mental health, he's seen it work both ways. When his heartfelt vignette of grief, ‘Pink Skies’, blew up on social media, fans immediately declared that the narrative must be about his mother (“If you could see 'em now, you'd be proud / But you'd think they's yuppies / Your funeral was beautiful / I bet God heard you comin'”).

Bryan later took to socials to underline that it wasn't inspired by DeAnn, and that fans should not assume that any time he writes about grief, he's referencing his mom.

He revealed that, contrary to popular belief, the song was not autobiographical, “‘Pink Skies’ wasn’t inspired by my story. Every time I sing about someone dying people assume it’s about my mom, this definitely was not. I just think all the dynamics in families are beautiful and interesting and generationally it’s a really cool thing”.

Often, the context surrounding a song is so powerful and defining that it can overshadow the music itself. But sometimes, the meaning around it can enhance the depth and richness of its message, as we see on countless occasions with Bryan. Now, with a new album en route this Friday (January 9th), With Heaven On Top, we're looking forward to diving into this next body of work from the ‘Revival’ crooner. He will no doubt continue to push the boundaries of country and folk, and test out novel sonics, just as he did with his last record, The Great American Bar Scene. But beneath it all, Bryan's music is about connection, and we can't wait to see what relatable, evocative tales he spins this time around.

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