Songfacts®:

• So take me down a road that's a little bit windy
  To a place they still put sugar in their iced tea
  Where the women are fine and the love is fair
  Hey, driver, you can drop me off anywhere
  
  In a world where country roads and music intertwine, Zach Bryan's "Hey Driver" strikes a powerful chord. This gritty track spins the tale of a road-weary musician, someone who's seen too many comrades fall victim to the clutches of drugs and alcohol. With his raspy voice and soulful lyrics, Bryan longs for an escape, a place where worries melt away and love and happiness await.
• The song pairs Zach Bryan with The War and Treaty, a duo comprising Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter. Their sound is a soulful blend of gospel and blues, echoing with the depths of human emotion.
• Hailing from the heartland of Michigan, The War and Treaty first worked together in 2014 and released their debut album, Love Affair, as Trotter & Blount two years later. It was a lover's spat that birthed their evocative name when Tanya passionately declared, "This isn't war, Michael, so let's come to some sort of treaty here." From that fiery exchange, The War and Treaty emerged.
  
  The group signed a major-label deal with Universal Music Group Nashville in May 2022, the same year the Americana Music Association named The War And Treaty its Duo/Group of the Year.
• Zach Bryan and The War and Treaty recorded "Hey Driver" for Zach Bryan's self-titled fourth studio album. Bryan produced the entire project.
• War and Treaty first met Zach Bryan when they were doing the Outlaw Festival with Willie Nelson. When Bryan went backstage, passing out T-shirts, he made a friendly introduction.
  
  Later, when War & Treaty performed at the ACMs, Bryan was in the audience with his father. Post-performance, he ran up to them, declaring, "We have to work together. I don't know what we're going to do - let's exchange numbers."
  
  Bryan and Michael Trotter connected through being military veterans. "We were on a three-way text, but Michael and him had the bond of being in the military and serving, and so the dialog happened," Tanya Trotter told Billboard.
  
  Then came the pivotal call, and within two weeks, Bryan had readied "Hey Driver." He reached out, saying, "I want to hear what you guys sound like on this song." War and Treaty whipped up a voice memo, sent it his way, and within less than 20 minutes, it was on Instagram.