The Devil Named Music

Chris Stapleton told Billboard magazine the story behind this track. "I wrote the opening of the song as we drove all night to Billings, Montana," he explained. "I was in a band called the SteelDrivers, and we were driving from Wyoming." "The song is pretty autobiographical," Stapleton added. "I was on the road playing bluegrass, and we were out there hitting it hard as hard as we could, trying to matter. A lot of the song is about that."

Stapleton elaborated on the story behind the song during an interview with American Songwriter magazine. "Most of the song is all real stuff," he explained. "The band had played some horse farm gig in Wyoming, then rented a mini van and driven God knows how many hours to Billings, Montana, because that was the closest airport." "We checked into an airport hotel to get an hour of sleep in our shared rooms. Then we got up, went to the airport and checked in for a 5:30 a.m. flight, which was going to Salt Lake City. I don't remember changing planes in Denver, because I was so whipped and punch drunk, but apparently we did. And then we got to Salt Lake City, which is 10,000 feet up in the air, and I weighed 300 pounds at the time, so it felt like torture. Then we played a gig." "That's what that song is about. I missed my kid and I missed my wife, and I was getting an idea of what it was like to be a touring musician."