Tried Our Best
Tried Our Best is track 11 of For All the Dogs (2023), produced per Wikipedia's credits by 40 and Jahaan Sweet. It frames a relationship's end not as betrayal but as exhausted effort — the title conceding that both parties attempted something that ultimately failed — which makes it one of the album's more rueful, less accusatory moments and a counterweight to its harder grievance cuts. Drake's register reads as resignation rather than anger: an acknowledgment that good intentions and real attempts weren't enough against incompatibility, timing or the pressures of his life. The 40-anchored production keeps the album's nocturnal atmosphere, letting the weariness in the delivery do the emotional work. Within the album it provides tonal variety and a rare note of shared blame.
Sources & verification
Citations below were matched specifically to "Tried Our Best" and For All the Dogs. Drake Universe catalogs songs by album placement, verified collaborators, producers, samples, and themes, and avoids unsupported lyric-level claims.
- Billboard Canada: For All the Dogs Hot 100 chart weekBillboard Canada · 2023-10-21 chart — Dated reference for the first artist with at least 300 Hot 100 entries claim.
- Billboard: For All the Dogs debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200Billboard · 2023-10-15 — Dated chart report for For All the Dogs debuting at No. 1 — Drake's 13th No. 1 album.
- Complex 360 with Speedy Morman: Drake (2024)Complex / YouTube · 2024-02-28 — YouTube upload of Drake's For All The Dogs Scary Hours Edition Complex feature.
- Wikipedia: For All the DogsWikipedia · 2026-05-18 — Primary reference for For All the Dogs release date, rollout, per-track producer and sample credits, BARK Radio guest outros, reception aggregates, and chart/streaming records.
- Wikipedia — For All the Dogs (incl. Scary Hours Edition)Wikipedia · 2023-11-17 — Scary Hours Edition release date (Nov 17, 2023), six-track listing, per-track producer/sample credits, and reception (Clash 6/10, HipHopDX 2.7/5, The Independent) used for Scary Hours 3 ground truth.
- Drake Releases New For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition: ListenPitchfork · 2023-11-17 — Dated confirmation of the surprise Scary Hours Edition release on November 17, 2023.
