'Towers' by Zach Bryan – Lyrics & Meaning

With the arrival of a new Zach Bryan album comes the unravelling of a barrage of theories, as well as journeys deep into the lore of his larger-than-life career.

The same is true with his 2024 project, The Great American Bar Scene, fit with 19 tracks that speak on life, loss, love, his favorite watering holes around the country and everything in between.

Coming in near the end of the highly-anticipated album is an emotive and introspective tune titled 'Towers,' which features musings on mortality, God and the afterlife.

First teased on socials, in true Bryan fashion, on May 10, the song has been one that fans have been keenly awaiting, and since it's official release on July 4, the less than three-minute-long track has been proving itself as one of the project's enduring favorites.

Counting us in to an acoustic and calming acoustic guitar riff, Bryan is accompanied by a piano and some light electric guitar instrumentation picking away as the song opens.

Recorded acoustically, you can feel the sparse and almost serene feeling exuded across the track as a fiddle dances in the background and a booming church choir swells among the choruses.

Taking on the Oklahoma native's typical sing-talking style, he's (as ever) the sole writer on the track, which he notes began as a poem while sitting along the ocean on a balcony one night.

On the production front, Bryan is joined by his trusted co-producer Jacquire King.

"Play me something gently, I'm across the ocean missin' home
There are lights on sparklin' towers that shine dark when seen alone
Somewhere there's a mountain that overlooks the sea
I wonder if that mountain's got more rock than my band and me
And I ain't no victim to a naive boy's dreams
But I wish you were here now to see these damned old sparklin' things"

We meet Bryan far from home as the song opens. More than likely written whilst on tour overseas, the opening line reminds us that 'Towers' began as nothing more than a poem written in an attempt to find some solace and ease his homesickness.

In the second line, we get our first reference to "sparking towers," which we infer to be a reference to the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. As we learn that he's seeing this beautiful monument by himself, he explains that they're rather dim when not viewed alongside people that you love.

Changing course to offer up a passing thought regarding a mountain somewhere far off that might have "more rock than [his] band and [him]," he switches to talking directly to someone, sharing that all he wishes is that the person he's singing – or writing – to were there with him to see these seemingly beautiful towers that have lost their luster.

While Bryan never offers up many more details as to who he's singing to, a standard theme throughout his discography are songs dedicated to his mother, Annette, who passed away in 2016.

"It's a long road to heaven (Long road)
It's a far drop to hell
I pray we outlive this fountain (Pray we outlive)
I reckon time will tell
The stronger folks keep goin'
No matter where they've been (No matter where they've been)
And there are lights on sparklin' towers
That I'll never see again (I'll never see them again)"

As we get into the chorus, which features a goosebump-inducing choir, Bryan begins his musings on the afterlife, including the roads that lead to both heaven and hell.

Making mention of a fountain that he hopes to outlive, this could be in reference to another place that he visited during his travels, such as Rome's Trevi Fountain, or it could be a reference to something less tangible, such as the fountain of youth.

Explaining that those strong few out there continue to press on regardless of what they've been through, he finishes out the thought by simply stating that there are twinkling lights on these beautiful, sparkling towers that he will never set his eyes on again in this lifetime.

Taken literally, this could mean that he will never go to the Eiffel Tower or Paris again. On the other hand, taken more figuratively, this could mean that he will not be able to see the little hints of light and goodness on these towers like he did the very first time. Perhaps on his next visit, it's just another tower and the magic will be gone.

"I am not the person that I was yesterday
And the things I'm seeing now will never be the same
Do you think God's a person or the blinking lights?
That reflect in her eyes while she walks these streets at night
Do you think God’s a person or is He just the sound
Of laughter through the walls in a place I haven't found?"

Touching on the belief that we're all ever-changing from day to day, constantly learning and adapting, he draws this thought out even further by explaining that, because of his constant changing, the things he saw yesterday – like the sparkling towers – will never look the same to him in the future as they did in the past.

This thought process reinforces the latter theory mentioned above that the next time he sees those sparkling towers, they'll simply not be as breath taking as they did the first time.

We see another switch as Bryan suddenly begins opining about God, His purpose and what form He exists in. Asking whether God is a person or, in fact, those twinkling lights upon those towers or even the sound of laughter overheard in another room, you can feel the sense of both introspection and existentialism that Bryan is feeling an ocean away from his home.

"Do you think God's a person or is He just the sound
Of early mornin' creakin' on some floors way out of town?
I'm breathin' in a life and my legs are workin' fine
Do you think God's a person or the slowly passin' time?"

After going through the chorus once more, Bryan returns to his wonderings on God, contemplating if He's a person or the creaking sounds of hardwood floors.

Taking one last moment to consider life and its Creator, Bryan states that he's breathing in a lungs-worth of life as he questions if God is a real person or just the passing of time.

'Towers' exists as a largely interpretive song that allows the listener to think about what God and life means to them as they gave on some of life's beauties.

Upon teasing the song's chorus on socials back on May 10, Bryan offered: "I sat on a balcony all night across the ocean once and wrote this as a poem when I missed home.'

The Oklahoman added, "I can’t wait for you guys to hear the album and I am so thankful for each and every one of you."

While not many other details have come out regarding 'Towers,' Bryan did share a moving preface ahead of the full release of The Great American Bar Scene, delving into how his upcoming record came to be. “The making of this album tested me and everyone close to me. It drove me to my ends and my beginnings."

The first part of the next line is more than likely written in regards to the evocative song, which references the famed Eiffel Tower, with Bryan noting, "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."

Bryan concluded: "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.’”

Four, three, two, one

Play me something gently, I'm across the ocean missin' home
There are lights on sparklin' towers that shine dark when seen alone
Somewhere there's a mountain that overlooks the sea
I wonder if that mountain's got more rock than my band and me
And I ain't no victim to a naive boy's dreams
But I wish you were here now to see these damned old sparklin' things

It's a long road to heaven (Long road)
It's a far drop to hell
I pray we outlive this fountain (Pray we outlive)
I reckon time will tell
The stronger folks keep goin'
No matter where they've been (No matter where they've been)
And there are lights on sparklin' towers
That I'll never see again (I'll never see them again)

I am not the person that I was yesterday
And the things I'm seeing now will never be the same
Do you think God's a person or the blinking lights?
That reflect in her eyes while she walks these streets at night
Do you think God’s a person or is He just the sound
Of laughter through the walls in a place I haven't found?

It's a long road to heaven (Long road)
It's a far drop to hell
I pray we outlive this fountain
I reckon only time can tell
The stronger folks keep goin'
No matter where they've been (No matter where they've been)
There are lights on sparklin' towers
That I'll never see again

Do you think God's a person or is He just the sound
Of early mornin' creakin' on some floors way out of town?
I'm breathin' in a life and my legs are workin' fine
Do you think God's a person or the slowly passin' time?

--

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