Released: 2010
Colder Weather by Zac Brown Band is a heart-wrenching tale of a restless man torn between his love for a woman and his inherent need to roam. The song captures the struggle of maintaining a relationship when one’s nature is to be constantly on the move.
The opening lines paint a vivid picture of a woman willing to leave her home in Colorado if her lover would stay. However, her hopes are dashed as he leaves, his departure marked by the tail lights of his vehicle. The term ‘ramblin’ man’ refers to a man who is restless, constantly moving from place to place. ‘Gypsy soul’ is another way of saying he has a free spirit, a wanderer by nature.
In the second verse, we find our protagonist in a diner outside of Lincoln, his thoughts drifting back to the woman he left in Colorado. The repetition of the chorus reinforces his struggle – he wants to see her again, but he’s ‘stuck in colder weather’, a metaphor for his own internal struggle and inability to change his wandering ways.
The line ‘it’s a windin’ road when you’re in the lost and found’ implies the complexity and difficulty of his situation. He loves her, but he leaves her. He doesn’t want her, but he needs her. It’s a cycle of push and pull, perfectly capturing the tension of their relationship.
In the final verse, he acknowledges his own nature – he’s a ramblin’ man, born for leaving. Yet, he can’t escape her, her presence lingers wherever he goes, like a ‘perfume through these whisperin’ pines’. The song ends on a hopeful note, despite the weather (his nature), he believes they’ll be together again, showing his deep longing for her.
