Songfacts®:

• Here, Chris Stapleton bitterly addresses his former romantic partner. He hadn't anticipated his lover coldly walking out on him, breaking his heart.
• The mournful ballad opens with a somber piano line performed by Benmont Tench. It slowly builds, before culminating in a grand crescendo of heartbreak and Stapleton's anguished, passionate guitar solo.
• Stapleton wrote the song with Starting Over producer Dave Cobb and longtime band members JT Cure and Derek Mixon.
• Benmont Tench is a renowned session musician and the longtime keyboard player in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Stapleton enlisted him to play Hammond B3 organ on several Starting Over tracks, including "Maggie's Song," "Arkansas," "Nashville, TN," and this song.
• Stapleton cut part of "Cold" at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, before adding string arrangements and Tench's Hammond contribution after his trip.
• Stapleton delivered a soulful performance of "Cold" at the 2021 CMA Awards accompanied by Dave Cobb's electric guitar and a soaring string section. The neo-outlaw star also hit the stage with Jennifer Hudson to perform a medley of the Willie Nelson-penned "Night Life" and "You Are My Sunshine." Stapleton snagged four out of the five trophies for which he'd been nominated, including Song of the Year and Single of the Year for "Starting Over."
• Stapleton performed this at the Grammy Awards in 2022, where it won for Best Country Song. He filled up his trophy case that night: Starting Over took Best Country Album and "You Should Probably Leave" won for Best Country Solo Performance.