Zac Brown Band’s ‘Warrior’ Pays Powerful Tribute to U.S. Military [Listen]
Zac Brown Band pay tribute to America's armed forces in their experimental new song, "Warrior."
The multi-faceted band call on electronic production elements for the song, which honors the sacrifice of the men and women of the military. The second verse directly addresses the pain they face going into battle and returning home to a non-appreciative society.
"He can wash the war paint off his face / And learn to love a bitter broken place," the lyrics state.
"No one's born to be a warrior / No one's born an average man / We're made one or the other / And we try to understand," Zac Brown sings in the chorus, which sends his voice soaring.
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The song is inspired by a speech from Brown's friend Alexander R. Oliver, who served in the special operations branch of the military and put the idea of being a warrior into context for the singer. Brown interviewed Oliver about his more than two-decade career serving the U.S., calling him a "true warrior and a wordsmith" in a press release.
"There is no retirement for the warrior. Especially for his mind. Once he is forged and anointed on the battlefield he will always be a warrior," Oliver states in the speech that inspired "Warrior."
"The warrior will never feel sorry for himself and never ask for help, except maybe from his brothers," he continues. "We eat the pain for a lot of years to keep doing the things we do for our country. The pain takes a backseat for the cause. The cause suppresses the pain and makes it bearable no matter how many injuries are absorbed. But when our contribution to the cause comes to an end the pain loses its suppressor and for some that pain is unbearable. But we all feel it to some degree.’"
"Warrior" will appear on ZBB's upcoming album, The Owl. The project finds them working with major players in the pop world including Max Martin, producer and DJ Skrillex and Benny Blanco, the latter of whom co-wrote Keith Urban's "Parallel Line." The album drops on Sept. 20.
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