Zach Bryan Shares Snippet of Forlorn New Song, ‘Rockaway’, After Break-Up with Brianna LaPaglia

A week after revealing to Bruce Springsteen that he's already penned 14 tracks for his forthcoming album, Zach Bryan has taken to Instagram to share a clip of a brand new unreleased song.

The surprise offering, which is titled ‘Rockaway’, finds the Oklahoma crooner singing forlornly about happier memories that seemingly revolve around Queens in New York.

Zach Bryan wistfully reflects, “Recall when we / Went to Rockaway Beach / Summer heat in eastern Queens / And a subway ride”, yearning for a return to that rose-tinted time. The solemnity of the lyrics and Zach's delivery combines with the atmospheric, weighty feel of the keys, creating a heavy ambience throughout the track.

Zach Bryan has previously confirmed that he was considering making his next album - which Zach has hinted may be final full-length project - fully acoustic, so it's possible that the final version of ‘Rockaway’ won't be too dissimilar to this snippet.

The timing of this new teaser feels somewhat pointed, with Zach Bryan taking to Instagram hours earlier to announce that he'd broken up with his girlfriend of over a year, Brianna LaPaglia.

Zach Bryan explained, “Addressing something: Brianna and me have broken up with each other and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart. She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that I'll always thank her. I have had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go our different ways”.

The ‘Something in the Orange’ hitmaker went on to ask fans for compassion, “I am not perfect and never will be. Please respect Brianna's privacy and space in this and if you have it in your heart, mine too. With everything I am and to anyone I let down, I am sorry. I try my best in everything. I failed people that love me and mostly myself”.

Brianna LaPaglia, who co-hosts The BFFs Podcast with Josh Richards and Dave Portnoy, responded, “Hey guys I'm feeling really blindsided right now. Gonna hop off social media for a while and attempt to heal privately, when I'm ready I'll be back and ready to talk. I love you guys so much thank you for all of your kind words. Remember you are so loved and everything's always gonna be okay”. Brianna followed this up with a YouTube video sharing that she felt “discarded” by Zach, and outlined that she wasn't yet ready to delve into the details of the break-up publicly. Shortly after the announcement, Dave Portnoy took to X (formerly Twitter) to dedicate Taylor Swift's ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’ to Brianna.

It's important to underline that, while many fans will undoubtedly interpret Zach Bryan's despondent, nostalgic new song teaser as a response to the break-up with Brianna, it's not clear this is the case. ‘Rockaway’ could even be one of the 14 songs that the ‘Revival’ singer-songwriter had penned for his next studio album, prior to the split.

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Featured photo by Laura Ord