'Memphis; The Blues' by Zach Bryan with John Moreland - Lyrics & Meaning

Zach Bryan's newly released The Great American Bar Scene features a handful of duets, a mix of surprising and inevitable collaborations between stars across genres.

Canadian songstress Noeline Hofman, pop rock heartthrob John Mayer and heartland legend Bruce Springsteen all make appearances on the highly anticipated record, but no pairing compliments Bryan's artistry quite like the one found in the album's 'Memphis; The Blues', which features fellow Oklahoman singer-songwriter John Moreland.

The two are a match made in Tulsa as they warble out the album's tenth track.

'Memphis; The Blues' sounds far removed from the genre the song title suggests. Instead, the song is all acoustics, shimmering strings and shuffling rhythms, as a crystal clear dulcimer cries and a distant snare drum crackles and pops.

While no Memphis blues resound from the sparse folk track, the style's trademark feeling permeates the tune.

Rain started fallin' on the roof that mornin'
It was early summertime
We fogged up the rear window of my '67, three-hundred, in-line
My lungs have been hurtin'
And it's likely my liver has taken a lickin', too
Them Beale Street boys are handy
With a clap on four and two

In 'Memphis; The Blues', Bryan equates his need for a lover to the relationship between the city of Memphis, Tennessee and its trademark musical style, the blues – two things that are inseparable.

Opening on what appears to be a loved-up scene in a car's backseat, the lyrics – while, at times, perplexing – unfurl a proclamation of love, one riddled with Beale Street imagery and detailing a kind of familiar affection that can only come with time and understanding.

The thrill is gone, so slow and easy
Won't you love me tender?
The way you move's a drug
And I am on a lifelong bender
So rest them tired eyes
And let your dress fall to the ground
We're the only ones left
Who love Otis in this town

Throughout the song, Bryan and Moreland paint a love that has settled into itself. That excitement that comes with a blossoming relationship may have dulled, but what remains is something tender and easy. Still, Bryan sings about being intoxicated by this person, the way they move, the way they simply are.

There is an understanding, an appreciation and an admiration between them as they find refuge in each other.

I need you like Memphis, the blues
I need you like Memphis, the blues

This relationship has grown into something deeper than mere affection; it's become something as necessary as oxygen, as inseparable as Memphis and the blues.

Cracked up skies, tried on a couple lives
To find the one that fit
Cold wind comin' and the heat quit runnin'
But you keep my candle lit
Pictures on the wall say it all
With the kinda conviction, make a river burn
You got a skeleton key on a chain around your neck
I got a chain around my heart

Moreland's battered croon pipes in for the next verse, singing of the roads we take and the lives we live on the way to finding our person. Once we finally do, they sustain us in a way, fanning our flame through the bitter cold and keeping safe the key to our hearts.

Eventually, they become the thing we can't be without, the way Memphis needs the blues.

I need you like Memphis, the blues...

Bryan recently shared the preface to The Great American Bar Scene, in which he delves into some of the more intricate details of the record. He explains, “The making of this album tested me and everyone close to me."

While the explanation doesn't specifically name-drop 'Memphis; The Blues' or the artist's work with Moreland, it does touch on the deeply personal pursuit the project became to the star.

"It drove me to my ends and my beginnings," he continues. "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’.”

Rain started fallin' on the roof that mornin'
It was early summertime
We fogged up the rear window of my '67, three-hundred, in-line
My lungs have been hurtin'
And it's likely my liver has taken a lickin', too
Them Beale Street boys are handy
With a clap on four and two

The thrill is gone, so slow and easy
Won't you love me tender?
The way you move's a drug
And I am on a lifelong bender
So rest them tired eyes
And let your dress fall to the ground
We're the only ones left
Who love Otis in this town

I need you like Memphis, the blues
I need you like Memphis, the blues

Cracked up skies, tried on a couple lives
To find the one that fit
Cold wind comin' and the heat quit runnin'
But you keep my candle lit
Pictures on the wall say it all
With the kinda conviction, make a river burn
You got a skeleton key on a chain around your neck
I got a chain around my heart

Church bells ringing in the air down the hill from the house where you were born
I said, "Baby, don't you think we ought to live a little bit
Before Gabriel blows his horn?"

I need you like Memphis, the blues
I need you like Memphis, the blues

I need you like Memphis, the blues
I need you like Memphis, the blues
I need you like Memphis, the blues
I need you like Memphis, the blues

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