‘Better Days’ by Zach Bryan & John Mayer - Lyrics & Meaning

After opting for his traditional route of teasing an acoustic snippet via his socials, Zach Bryan then delighted fans at his Chicago, Illinois show with a live debut of the introspective track in March 2024. Then, the ‘Something in the Orange’ hitmaker offered up another, bigger surprise by inviting soft-rock trailblazer, John Mayer, on-stage to play the track with him during his Los Angeles set in June.

‘Better Days’, appears to be the result of a joint studio session back in October 2023, with the two spotted in a black and white image shared to Zach's Instagram page. ‘Better Days’ appears on Bryan's keenly anticipated fifth studio album, The Great American Bar Scene, which arrived on July 4th.

‘Better Days’ is pervaded by a beautifully wistful, nostalgic ambience, with Zach Bryan introducing a sense of assurance into his vocal delivery as he comforts the listener to hold onto the hope that “Them better days always come back again”.

John Mayer's striking instrumental almost feels like a second voice in the track, with the longing cry of his electric guitar sounding as though it's playing the part of the person Zach Bryan is addressing. Mayer's accompaniment begins somewhat tentatively, before growing in strength as ‘Better Days’ progresses, mirroring the subject's sense of burgeoning confidence and optimism that things will work out. Mayer's vocal acts in much the same way, a warm accompaniment to Bryan's wonderings.

“Don't get angry, listen to the sounds
Them good times will find a way back around
And I’ve got the answers, go on and touch my skin
Them better days always come back again”

Bryan spends ‘Better Days’ attempting to assuage someone who's feeling disgruntled and frustrated with life, with Zach encouraging them to find peace and stillness by just listening to the sounds that surround them instead of growing angry.

He assures them that happier times are on the horizon, as he warmly encourages the person he's addressing to come close to him and “go on and touch my skin”.

“This life's a boat, boy, it all comes in waves
On the radio, her laughter and sweet mistakes
And I wasn't loved well as a younger child
So I’ll pray these better unstable days, they stay awhile”

Bryan evocatively describes life as ‘a boat’, as we all try our best to navigate the various choppy waters that come our way. By portraying life's challenges as waves, Bryan reiterates that the person's difficulties are only temporary, and that soon they'll be able to enjoy more tranquil waters once the waves have passed.

He fondly describes the joy of hearing the laugh of someone close to him, with Bryan then underlining that he only became famous recently. All of the images in this verse serve the purpose of adding weight to his point that every moment in life, whether good or bad, is fleeting.

He then emphasises his gratitude for the current season he's in. Although his life out on the road is somewhat ‘unstable’, he hopes he gets to enjoy these days for a while longer.

“So don't get hateful, Lord, hot damn
There's a fire burnin' in the back forty
I'm still findin' out who the hell I am
And I'm so tired of wastin' it away
Gonna’ find the time to realize
I’m in deep on better days”

Here, Zach Bryan rephrases his words of advice from the opening verse, encouraging the person he's singing to not to become hateful or spiteful as a result of life's hardships. He sets the colourful scene by remarking how he's just started a bonfire in his back garden, before admitting he's still “finding out who the hell I am”.

Even though he's still bombarded with uncertainties and anxieties, Zach resolves to take time out from all the chaos and rush of life to find gratitude in the knowledge that he's already “deep in better days”. It carries the same message as the famous scene at the end of The Office, where Andy reflects, “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them”.

“She always told me there'd be times like this
With a blue guitar, a city bar, and a streetlight kiss
And I’ve never known quite what I deserve
You try so hard and wind up gettin' burned”

Zach Bryan recalls how someone in his youth told him he'd one day get to enjoy all the incredible accolades, triumphs and moments of euphoria that he gets to soak up today.

On this interpretation, Bryan is offering the same advice he's now offering the subject of the song, with Zach heartwarmingly passing it on to someone who's having similar doubts and concerns to those he was contending with when he was younger.

The phrase ‘a blue guitar’ could be a reference to Justin Hayward and John Lodge's song, ‘Blue Guitar’, which explores similar themes of finding contentment as a musician.

Bryan ends this verse with a caution as to the unpredictability of life, with the Oklahoma native crooning, “And I’ve never known quite what I deserve / You try so hard and wind up gettin' burned”. Rather than using this as a reason to feel scared - an emotion he dismisses as ‘overdone and glorified’ in his enchanting 2023 poem, ‘Fear and Fridays’ - Zach transforms this into a reason to live each day to the fullest, because who knows what the future brings?

When sharing the preface to The Great American Bar Scene, Zach Bryan delved into the life experiences that contributed to the record, “The making of this album tested me and everyone close to me. It drove me to my ends and my beginnings. I saw the lights of Paris after saying I would for ten years, rode the coast of Australia with a beautiful woman, was locked in a pub until 7am in Ireland, walked my favorite street in New York over a hundred times, thought I was going to bleed out in a field in Tennessee, spent a few hours in handcuffs, hugged my grandma more than a few times, layed in the grass of my mother's hometown, sang ‘State Trooper’ in a bar South of Boston and wrote something that I think was important. I wrote and produced all of these with the help of some truly great friends. I finally felt like I's making music again. If you don't like it I assume it's not intended for you. Grab your beers through tears and fears, ‘the Great American Bar Scene’”.

Although not touching on the song specifically, in an episode of his Sirius XM radio show, Life with John Mayer, John Mayer paid tribute to Zach Bryan's electrifying live performances, “This guy and his band have the greatest camaraderie offstage and, therefore, onstage - the crowd goes nuts...I’ve never seen a band change the space around them in an arena...An arena is sorta like, ‘Here, you’re using our room; do your thing in our room.’ Zach Bryan and his band are like, ‘We’re gonna take your room and we’re gonna have a hoedown in it, thank you very much.’ They have string lights as if it were a bar, but yet it’s still an arena show...”

Mayer expanded by endearingly celebrating Zach Bryan's overall artistry, “He’s cracked some code that I have been waiting for someone to crack. He’s tapped into a thing with people that should give everyone hope. Sometimes you start feeling like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be a long time before a lot of people like one thing again,’ [but] a lot of people like Zach Bryan shows. Myself included. It was unbelievable”.

Don't get angry, listen to the sounds
Them good times will find a way back around
And I’ve got the answers, go on and touch my skin
Them better days always come back again

This life's a boat, boy, it all comes in waves
On the radio, her laughter and sweet mistakes
And I wasn't loved well as a younger child
So I’ll pray these better unstable days, they stay awhile

So don't get hateful, Lord, hot damn
There's a fire burnin' in the back forty
I'm still findin' out who the hell I am
And I'm so tired of wastin' it away
Gonna’ find the time to realize
I’m in deep on better days

She always told me there'd be times like this
With a blue guitar, a city bar, and a streetlight kiss
And I’ve never known quite what I deserve
You try so hard and wind up gettin' burned

So don't get hateful, Lord, hot damn
There's a fire burnin’ in the back forty
I'm still findin' out who the hell I am
And I'm so tired of wastin' it away
Gonna' find the time to realize
I'm in deep on better days

Don't get hateful, Lord, hot damn
There's a fire burnin' in the back forty
And they're tryin' to change the man I am
And I'm so tired of wastin' it away
Gonna' find the time to realize
I'm in deep on better days
Gonna' find the time to realize
I'm in deep on better days"

For more on Zach Bryan, see below: