I should tell you to take a deep breath and get ready to feel all the feels. But if you’ve ever heard anything from Zach Bryan or Kacey Musgraves, you already know that.
Individually, Bryan and Musgraves have each released more than their fare of tear-jerking songs. But now, this dynamic duo have joined forces and recently released a song, a mix of alternative country and folk, and it’s called “I Remember Everything.”
This somber track sings like a scene from a movie as Bryan and Musgraves tell the story of a former dysfunctional and codependent couple who can’t seem to wash their memories, or expectations, away, no matter how much they drink.
This song starts with Bryan wondering if an ex-girlfriend remembers all of the passionate, impactful memories that he can’t seem to forget (Do you remember that beat-down basement couch?/I’d sing you my love songs and you’d tell me about”).
These are the kind of memories that burn in his mind and remind him of deep, vulnerable moments (“The sand from your hair is blowin’ in my eyes/Blame it on the beach, grown men don’t cry”). These memories can’t be erased, no matter how much he may want them to be (“I wish I didn’t, but I do/Remember every moment on the nights with you”).
Bryan’s solution to forgetting, it seems, is consuming large amounts of alcohol (“Rot gut whiskey’s gonna ease my mind/…Strange words come out of/A grown man’s mouth when his mind is broke”).
And perhaps he wants to forget because his ex-lover (played by Musgraves), who is also fond of alcohol (“You only smile like that when you’re drinkin’) doesn’t hold her memories of him in high regard (“you’re drinkin’ everything to ease your mind/But when the h— are you gonna ease mine?/…No, you’ll never be the man that you always swore”).
There are two uses of the word “h—” here. The cover for this song features Zach Bryan smoking a cigarette.
This song deals with two elements: a dysfunctional, broken couple and personal trauma that was never properly dealt with.
Sure, it’s about plenty of other things, and the story that Bryan and Musgraves tell is powerful. The heart of this song is both sad and somber. It shows a man who drinks away his memories and a woman who explains why.
If I were to pick a line to express the depth of emotion in this occasionally profane song, it would be ““it burns like h—” when two souls meet.”
This feels like the proper cautionary tale for those in relationships: be mindful of whom you choose and how you deal with memory, nostalgia and loss.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
