"Sweet Annie" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

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, ukulele, ...

. It was released in August 2013 as the fourth single from the group's third major-label album, '' Uncaged''. The song was written by

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

, Wyatt Durrette,

Sonia Leigh Sonia Leigh (born December 1978) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Following her 1998 debut, ''Remember Me'', Leigh has performed extensively as a solo artist, headliner, and as the supporting act for Jason Mraz, The Marshall Tucker ...

, and John Pierce. As of March 12, 2014 the single has sold 439,000 copies in the United States and has been certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Content

The song is a mid-tempo ballad about a singer who is tired of his life on the road, and pleads with his lover to "stay with imawhile." It is in the key of

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

with a slow tempo of 72

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

, and the guitars set to

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

Critical reception

Chuck Dauphin of ''Roughstock'' gave the song a favorable review, praising the "spellbinding" harmonies and calling it "another hit to be from arguably the most consistent act in the business." On the same site, Bobby Peacock gave it 5 out of 5 stars, saying that it had "a familiar but enjoyable story" and that "The instrumental interplay is as strong as ever ��And of course, there's absolutely no denying those impeccable four-part harmonies." Phyllis Hunter of ''Got Country Online ''gave the song five out of five stars as well, calling it "simple and heartbreaking. Not since "

Colder Weather "Colder Weather" is a song by American country music group Zac Brown Band. Lead singer Zac Brown co-wrote the song with Coy Bowles (the band's keyboardist and guitarist), Wyatt Durrette and Levi Lowrey. It is the band's seventh single release o ...

" has Zac Brown's voice been so achingly showcased." Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' was less favorable, giving the song three and a half stars out of five and writing that "the collaborative spirit that defined them early on is missing, making the ensemble sound more like Zac Brown's band instead of the Zac Brown Band." Dukes also called the song "predictable," saying that "the lyrical strength of 'Sweet Annie' will serve the song well, but one finds himself begging for a surprise."

Music video

The music video was directed by Cole Cassell and premiered in October 2013. It featured an edited video of Coy Bowles' wedding, who is a member of the band.

Chart performance

"Sweet Annie" debuted at number 58 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart for the week of August 31, 2013. It also debuted at number 50 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart for the week of September 21, 2013. It also debuted at number 94 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week of November 2, 2013. It also debuted at number 96 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

chart for the week of November 9, 2013. As of March 2014, the song has sold 439,000 copies in the U.S.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Zac Brown Band 2013 singles Zac Brown Band songs Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Songs written by John Pierce (country singer) 2012 songs Songs written by Sonia Leigh Songs written by Zac Brown Songs written by Wyatt Durrette (songwriter)