There’s a certain ache in the way Zach Bryan spins tales of love’s wild ride, where the thrill of the chase gives way to the hollow echo of what was left behind. “Cannonball,” the twelfth track on his sprawling new album With Heaven On Top, dives headfirst into that territory—a raw recounting of backroad benders, high-stakes gambles, and sun-soaked beaches that once felt eternal. It’s the kind of song that hits like a summer storm, stirring up nostalgia for those reckless days with someone who saw your light through the fog. As listeners sift through Cannonball lyrics by Zach Bryan, they uncover not just a story, but a mirror to their own tangled histories of hope and heartbreak.
| Lead Vocals | Zach Bryan |
| Songwriter | Zach Bryan |
| Music Producer | Zach Bryan |
| Mastering Engineer | Pete Lyman |
| Mixing Engineer | Jacquire King |
| Background Vocals | Heaven Schmitt |
| Label | Warner Records |
| Release Date | January 9, 2026 |
| Song Language | English |
| Copyright © | Belting Bronco Records & Warner Records |
| Phonographic Copyright ℗ | Belting Bronco Records & Warner Records |
Lyrics of Cannonball by Zach Bryan
[Verse 1]
We’ve Come A Long Way Since Those Drunk Days On Backroads
You And Your High Hopes Always Stayed Down
You Always Saw The Best In Me, High In Yosemite, We Hide
Now I’m Driving Through Reno, Those Goddamn Casinos
You Always Kept God Close
Except That Time You Bet It All On Black, Came Back To The Room With Twenty Grand
And You Were Smiling Like A Thief With Your Cheek-tearing Teeth
You Was Praying To Jesus, We Was Running From The Police
They’re Using My Muses To Make Fun Of Me
And Your Face Up While Your Blood Sucks From An Iv [Verse 2]
We Spent It All On Gasoline, Pch To Cannon Beach
Laid In The Sand And, Man, I Have Never Seen
Something More Beautiful Than You And Your Cannonball
And We’ve Come A Long Way Since That Shit Banned At The Blue List
You Said Anything Other Than Another Fucking Cover Of “Only The Good Die Young”
You Were Smiling Like A Thief With Your Cheek-tearing Teeth
You Was Praying To Jesus, We Was Running From The Police
They Covered All The Songs That Are Best Kept Alone
‘Cause Your Cannonball Sits On Cannon Beach Alone
And They’re Using My Muses To Make Fun Of Me
And Your Face Up As Your Blood Sucks From An Iv [Verse 3]
And I Never Thought It’d Be You
I Always Thought I’d Beat You To The Golden Gates
Won’t You Wait A Few Hours There By The Door? We’ve All Been Here Before
But You Stood Up On Your Own, Your Mom Called My Telephone
Said You’ve Been Standing And Rambling About Gambling
And Howling Out In The Night High In Yosemite [Chorus]
And You Were Smiling Like A Thief With Your Cheek-tearing Teeth
You Was Praying To Jesus, We Was Running From The Police
They Sold Off The Town We Used To Call Home
And Your Cannonball Sits On Cannon Beach Alone
[Outro]
So Call Up Your Brothers, Won’t You Take You A Ride?
There Are Cannonballs Falling In The Heat Of July
So Call Up Your Brothers, Won’t You Take You A Ride?
There’s Cannonballs Falling In The Heat Of July
So Call Up Your Brothers, Won’t You Take You A Ride?
There’s Cannonballs Falling In The Heat Of July
So Call Up Your Brothers, Won’t You Take You A Ride?
There’s Cannonballs Falling In The Heat Of July
Call Up Your Brothers, Won’t You Take You A Ride?
There’s Cannonballs Falling In The Heat Of July
Call Up Your Brothers, Won’t You Take You A Ride?
There’s Cannonballs Falling In The Heat Of July
About “Cannonball by Zach Bryan”
Zach Bryan crashes through the waves of memory in “Cannonball,” a haunting ballad that turns fleeting joys into forever scars—equal parts tender and tearing.
What makes “Cannonball” pulse is its unflinching gaze at a relationship’s slow unraveling, from Yosemite hideaways to Reno roulette wheels, all laced with themes of change and the myths we build around our messiest bonds. The mood swings from wistful charm to a subtle undercurrent of resentment, like replaying an old mixtape that now skips on the sour notes. As a country ballad at heart, it leans into sparse, soul-baring production: gentle acoustic strums that build like a confession, woven with violin swells that add a cinematic ache, letting Bryan’s gravelly drawl carry the weight without overkill.
Nestled in With Heaven On Top, Bryan’s sixth studio album and a 25-track odyssey clocking in at over 80 minutes, “Cannonball” fits like a pivotal chapter in a road novel. The record maps the restless contours of his life over the past year—fights and falls, fleeting loves and hard-won wisdom—framed by an artistic vision that’s equal parts confessional diary and defiant anthem. Tracks like “Down, Down, Stream” and the optimistic closer “With Heaven On Top” bookend it with raw energy, but it’s the quiet builders like this one that reveal Bryan’s knack for turning personal lore into universal anthems.
Dropped on January 9, 2026, via Warner Records, the album arrived with little fanfare beyond Bryan’s understated social media tease back in July 2025—a move that let the music speak first. No big collabs here; Bryan wrote, recorded, and produced it solo in his signature DIY style, though early reviews praise how it captures America’s wandering soul. Pre-saves on Spotify spiked in the weeks leading up, and the full rollout has already sparked fan breakdowns on Genius, with “Cannonball” emerging as a sleeper favorite for its vivid vignettes of police chases and beachside bliss.
At 29, Zach Bryan is deep in his prime, evolving from the Navy vet who blew up on TikTok with American Heartbreak into country’s most trusted storyteller. This album marks a leap in vulnerability—less firebrand fury, more reflective simmer—mirroring his real-life navigation of fame’s glare and personal tempests. In a discography stacked with essentials like “I Remember Everything” and The Great American Bar Scene, “Cannonball” underscores why he matters: he doesn’t just sing about the ride; he makes you feel the gravel under your tires, the wind in your hair, and the sting when it all fades.
It’s a track that lingers, turning everyday escapades into something sacred and shattered, a reminder that even cannonballs eventually wash ashore alone. As Bryan howls about calling up brothers for one more ride in the July heat, you can’t help but grab your keys, chasing that fleeting high.
Frequently Asked Questions
