The Way Back

Album: The Great American Bar Scene (2024)
Charted: 57
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Songfacts®:

  • "The Way Back" is a melancholic ballad about loss, hope, and the enduring power of love.
  • Now, the story goes something like this. Bryan's got a friend, a good ol' boy perhaps, who's fallen on hard times. A woman seems to be the root of the trouble. This guy skipped town, leaving his family "in shambles," but he still lives in Bryan's dreams with his "breath framed by cocaine and beer."

    Still, Bryan believes love can pull his friend from the darkness.

    No matter where you're at
    We'll always find the way back


    Bryan remains steadfast in his belief in the possibility of redemption.
  • Zach Bryan wrote "The Way Back" himself. Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance also get a songwriting credit because the melody in the chorus owes a debt to Adams' 1985 hit "Heaven."
  • "The Way Back" is the ninth track on Bryan's The Great American Bar album. Bryan had some help with the production of this song and four others from producer and engineer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Norah Jones). King also mixed the album.

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