'danny don't' by Avery Anna - Lyrics & Meaning

TW: Suicide, Depression, Anxiety, Alcohol, Abuse.

For information and support on any issues raised in this story, help is available via the National Institute of Mental Health.

2025 is shaping up to be quite the year for 21-year-old prodigy Avery Anna as she readies her highly-anticipated sophomore record, let go letters.

Taking its name from the fan opportunity she provides at her live shows, which allow attendees to "write down a letter about anything that [they] want to let go of that [they're] dealing with in [their] life that [they] just need to get off of your chest," Anna has compiled a selection of these fan-written letters to create the bones of her forthcoming project.

Including already released singles, like the high-octane 'Mr. Predictable' and the gut-wrenching 'Wish You Well,' the third track from the record shows an entirely new side to the Arizona native with the release of 'danny don't.'

Written as a plea to a friend to keep going even when it's hard, it's a sobering message to the billions of people who struggle with mental illness all across the globe, and finds Anna at her very best thus far.

At just shy of four minutes long, 'danny don't' is undoubtedly one of Avery Anna's most profound and compelling efforts to date.

Written solely by herself and featuring production from David Fanning, the tune includes only a strummed acoustic guitar and the Arizona native's chilling vocals, as she pleads across its moving prose.

Having gotten her start by singing alone in her mother's bathroom, it's no wonder why Anna is at her best when all of the glossy production and arena-ready instrumentation is stripped away, leaving her at her most pure and natural.

“You learned about anger too fast as a kid
Oh, and your father, he’d drink then he’d hit
You’ve only been loved through manipulation
Now its what you do and you can’t seem to change it"

Taking the form as a conversation from a worried friend to someone struggling with their mental health, Anna takes on the role of the supporter.

Going through some of the trauma that led the other friend to this point, including an abusive, alcoholic father, we quickly understand that this friend, Danny, had a hard go of it from the beginning. Only ever knowing love through means of manipulation and walking an invisible tightrope, it's evident that these ways of thinking and feeling are so deeply engrained in Danny at this point that change seems impossible.

“Didn’t act like you loved her but God knows you did
So much regret that its making you sick
You turn to the poison inside of your glass
But you swore you’d never end up like your dad"

Fast forward to present day, we see those childhood traumas and habits on display in Danny's adult life, materializing in commitment issues and being unable to truly show love for romantic partners.

Taking each heartbreak hard and filled with regrets from his decades-old learned habits, Danny finds comfort at the bottle of a bottle, even though he always swore that he'd stay sober.

“You’re at the end of your rope
And you’re sick and tired of being alone

You can lie and say you don’t want to
But man, you should cry like you know you want to
Sometimes a man can’t quite say what the truth is
And man, I know you’re goin’ through it

But Danny don’t bite the bullet"

Running out of hope and reasons to keep going, Danny is one step from the edge and Anna is desperately trying to pull him back.

Always one to pretend to be tough, Anna encourages him to let out these feelings and let someone else in to help him through it, even though society and everything in him tells him to shoulder it all on his own.

"You’re not workin’ to live
You’re just livin’ to work
It’s a good distraction from all of the hurt
You don’t wanna talk and you don’t wanna listen
Don’t know why you’re broken so how could you fix it"

As has become commonplace for people experiencing personal hardship, Danny busies himself with work in hopes that it'll be enough of a distraction from the real life battles being waged all around him.

Resistant to talking through any of his problems or to listening to anyone's advice, Danny has simply convinced himself that there's something intrinsically wrong with him so no one will ever be able to help him.

"At the end of your rope
And you’re sick and tired of bein’ alone

You can lie and say you don’t want to
But Danny just cry
Like you know you want to
Sometimes a man can’t quite say what the truth is
And man, I know you’re goin’ through it"

Ahead of teasing 'danny don't,' Anna took to socials to share the story behind the song, including its harrowing origin story and the let go letter that inspired it.

"I feel the need to give it a trigger warning and a backstory before I [tease this song]," the artist shared on TikTok. "There were a lot of letters that talked about things like this as well, but this one stood out to me and it devastated me reading it.

"It's from a man, and I won't share the personal details that he shared with me, but he basically told me about the things that he's been dealing with in his life," Anna explained. "Then, at the end of his letter he said, 'I considered vanishing into the woods or finding out what my gun tastes like. Life is hard. I will continue.'"

Fighting back tears, the singer continued, "He didn't sign a name and he just said thanks for the show. I went home after that show, I locked myself in my room and I wrote this song by myself. It's called 'danny don't,' and this song is for him and for anybody that has ever had suicidal thoughts or has felt that way and anyone who knows anyone who's felt that way."

You learned about anger too fast as a kid
Oh, and your father, he’d drink then he’d hit
You’ve only been loved through manipulation
Now its what you do and you can’t seem to change it

Didn’t act like you loved her but God knows you did
So much regret that its making you sick
You turn to the poison inside of your glass
But you swore you’d never end up like your dad

You’re at the end of your rope
And you’re sick and tired of being alone

You can lie and say you don’t want to
But man, you should cry like you know you want to
Sometimes a man can’t quite say what the truth is
And man, I know you’re goin’ through it

But Danny don’t bite the bullet

You’re not workin’ to live
You’re just livin’ to work
It’s a good distraction from all of the hurt
You don’t wanna talk and you don’t wanna listen
Don’t know why you’re broken so how could you fix it

At the end of your rope
And you’re sick and tired of bein’ alone

You can lie and say you don’t want to
But Danny just cry
Like you know you want to
Sometimes a man can’t quite say what the truth is
And man, I know you’re goin’ through it

But Danny don’t bite the bullet
Can I just talk ya through it?
You’re singin’ “ooh I got nothing to lose”
But ooh... Danny you do

––

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