Written by Michael Casarez. 13 November 2014.
The song “No Hurry” by the Zac Brown Band is one of the most iconic songs on their 2010 album You Get What You Give. It was an also a huge hit all across the country when it first debuted. The song is meant to have a very relaxing effect on the listener and the lyrics seem to carry an important message. The song itself urges people to slow down and relax so as to take in all the little things in life that make living life worthwhile. At the time this song was released our nation had entered into an economic downturn but Zac Brown wanted his listeners to know that sometimes we all need to just step back and not be in such a hurry. However, the structure and style of the song are just as important to the overall effect of the song.
First of all, the song is a slightly abstract version of the Verse-Chorus-Bridge style meaning that there are two verses that start the song, then a main chorus, and finally a bridge to signal the end of the song in near. Zac Brown speaks with a very enthusiastic voice throughout the song and is very emotional and somewhat dramatic in his word play, dragging out words especially in the chorus to add emphasis on the need for people to slow down as is pertinent to the time that the song was released as I described in the song’s album analysis.
The song is simple by nature due to its relatively simplistic mesasge but has a lot of emotionally charged pieces that complicate the song to the benefit of the listener, of course. “No Hurry” helps Brown to be able to convey to his listeners that its ok to slow down, step back, and take it all in before getting back in the game. He does so with the heavy use of the violin because it has a very soothing feel to it and giving the song a smooth vocal front stringing out the chorus so as to say to the listener “Hey, listen to this part carefully. It might make you feel better.”
The structure of the song is quite simple to follow and grasp for the listener but the style of the song is much more complex simply because of the way Zac Brown Band performs their music is a bit messy. A good way to describe it is like a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces are jagged and messy but fit together perfectly to make a nice complete picture. The song is very clear in that every instrument play can be identified and every word can be understood allowing for the song to be easily translatable and understood for the listener.The correctness of the song is not entirely on point, meaning that the language is not entirely correct but it flows and besides, it’s a country song. It not always supposed to be entirely correct as the diction used is specific to Zac Brown himself and it helps the song relate to its country audience as well.
On the contrary, the song is just right for its audience for many reasons: at the time of the songs release there were many troubles surrounding the entire nation and I suppose Zac Brown felt the need to release a song that would tell people that it’s ok to slow down. The line of the bridge “When I must return to the cold cold ground have ‘em take their time when they lay this sinner down” certainly humbles the audience because everyone can relate to the inevitability of death but Zac brown is trying to say that it’s necessary to take some time for yourself because before you know it you’re in the ground.
All this is fairly easy to obtain from the context of the song because it is structured and stylized in such a way that it is easier for the listener to receive the message intended by Zac Brown. A quick listen for yourself certainly won’t do you any harm and hopefully you will be able to obtain meaning from the song as it was intended to. I don’t believe it would have been such a big hit if it wasn’t easy to listen to. It’s an easy going song with plenty of substance behind to offer. A good pick-me-up in a time of need perhaps. One can never be sad when listening to this song.
| 0:00 | Introduction | Guitar, fiddle, drums, light piano | Conglomeration of instruments to set the tone or mood of the song |
| 0:12 | Verse 1 | “You know my old car…” | Speaker explains everything that is going wrong in his life and that is illustrated simple word structure and an emotional appeal. Many people experience what he does so it relates to the listener. |
| 0:36 | Instrumental | Guitar, fiddle, drums, piano | Carries energy from the first verse over to the second verse. Very short due to its purpose. Lyrical break for effect. |
| 0:48 | Verse 2 | “There’s nothing wrong…” | Similar in sound to the first verse. Explains everything that speaker wants to do instead of the items listed in the first verse. Energy goes up slightly to lead into chorus and to emphasize the good times highlighted |
| 1:15 | Chorus | “Aint in no hurry…” | Energy is way up during the chorus. Very long and drawn out words so as to place emphasis on the message of laying back and enjoying life. Very emotional way of singing the lyrics with “Aint in no hurry…” heavily focused on. |
| 1:44 | Instrumental | drums, fiddle, guitar | Pace of the song changes during this instrumental. Leads into the bridge to signal the coming end of the song. heavy fiddle during this break maybe as a way to add to the emotion to the coming bridge. |
| 2:09 | Bridge | “When I must return…” | Song takes an interesting spiritual turn. Tone and pace have shifted at this point to let the listener know that this is an important part of the song. |
| 2:27 | Verse 3 | “Heaven knows…” | Appeals to christian values on life and death. Slowest part of the song so the listener can take in every part of the third verse. Soothing overtone to let listeners know that everything will be ok. Very emotional verse so listener can relate as much as possible. |
| 2:50 | Chorus | “Aint in no hurry…” | Final chorus of the song. Song is coming to a close and so is the message but “Aint in no hurry…” is again emphasized and this time its repeated multiple times. The last line is really dragged out as final say. A very soothing end to the song to put the listener at ease. |
| 3:24 | Outro (instrumental) | guitar, fiddle, drums, piano | Similar tone but slightly changed mood as the introduction. very simple and soothing outro to leave the listener feeling good by the end of the song. |
Works Cited
Waddell, Ray. “SWEET GEORGIA BROWN. (Cover Story).” Billboard 122.37 (2010): 16-19. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
Mansfield, Brian. “Zac Brown Band gathers its flock.” USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.