"Colder Weather" is a song by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulel ...

. Lead singer

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and co-founder and lead singer of the country–rock Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown released a pop su ...

co-wrote the song with

Coy Bowles Coy Bowles is best known as a member of three-time Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band. He joined the Zac Brown Band in 2007, and plays guitar, slide guitar, dobro, piano and organ. He also contributes as a songwriter, and has writing credits on ...

(the band's keyboardist and guitarist), Wyatt Durrette and

Levi Lowrey Levi Lowrey is a singer-songwriter from Dacula, Georgia. He has performed extensively as a solo artist, headliner, and as the supporting act for well known names including Clay Cook, and Zac Brown Band. He is a great-grandson of Gid Tanner. Lowr ...

. It is the band's seventh single release overall, and the second single from their 2010 album '' You Get What You Give''.

Content

The lyric is about a trucker who is on the road, and separated from his lover due to the weather. Co-writer Wyatt Durrette told The Boot: "Colder Weather" is in the key of

E-flat major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...

, with the guitars set to

E♭ tuning Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. B ...

. In this song, Brown's vocals range from B2 to A4.

Critical reception

The song has received primarily positive reviews from critics. Jessica Phillips of ''

Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overvie ...

'', in her review of the album, called it "lyrically profound," and Eric R. Danton of the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

'' said that it was the "sorrowful, solitary kind of song with an old-school country-ballad feel made for crisp nights in the high country." Giving it a "thumbs up," Karlie Justus of Engine 145 called it "loneliness and longing set to music", also praising the production and lyrics. She compared the song's style to

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

. Jonathan Keefe of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' was less favorable, calling the song "somewhat strident and inorganic."

Music video

The music video was directed by

Darren Doane Darren Doane (born September 20, 1972) is an American filmmaker, actor, and music video director.Liam Hemsworth Liam Hemsworth (born 13 January 1990) is an Australian actor. He played the roles of Josh Taylor in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' and Marcus in the children's television series ''The Elephant Princess''. In American films, Hemsworth starred as ...

appeared in the video portraying the male character who temporarily leaves his girlfriend during the winter. Tori McPetrie portrays his girlfriend.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official Music Video
{{authority control Songs about weather 2011 singles 2010 songs Zac Brown Band songs Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Atlantic Records singles Bigger Picture Music Group singles Country ballads Songs written by Levi Lowrey Songs written by Zac Brown Songs written by Wyatt Durrette (songwriter)