Songfacts®:

• Not to be confused with Taylor Swift's 2008 song of the same title, Chris Stapleton's "White Horse" is a plea to his lover for patience. "It's a relationship song, but it's about hesitance and stubbornness (laughs), but also real stuff," said Stapleton.
• In literature and film, the cowboy is a timeless symbol of heroism and salvation, representing law and order in the wild American West. The cowboy was the one who could be counted on to bring criminals to justice and save damsels in distress.
  
  White horses have a special significance in the mythologies of cultures around the world. They are often associated with heroes and saviors, and they are said to bring hope and prosperity to those who see them. In the Book of Revelation 19:11-16, John the Revelator describes a vision of Jesus Christ returning to earth. Jesus is riding a white horse, accompanied by armies of angels.
  
  In Stapleton's song, he's no ready-made hero; he warns his girl he needs time to unlock his heart and deal with something first.
  
  If you want a cowboy on a white horse
  Ridin' off into the sunset
  If that's the kinda love you wanna wait for
  Hold on tight, girl, I ain't there yet
  
  If she's seeking a picture-perfect love story, she'll have to brace herself for a wait.
• Stapleton co-wrote "White Horse" with Dan Wilson in 2013. The pair first teamed up with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band to write songs for That's It!, the group's first album of original music. When Stapleton returned to Los Angeles, he come to Wilson's house where they wrote this song.
  
  "'There was a movie called The Lone Ranger that was coming out, and I walked in the room to write with Dan at his house," said Stapleton. "He said, 'Hey they're looking for songs for this Lone Ranger movie.' I said, 'Cool. Let's write something. What do you know about it?' He goes, 'Well, we don't really know anything.' I was like, 'Well, let's just make a song that might sound like that.' And so, that's kind of where that came from, and we got to talking about how it would be cool to have a kind of rock-driven-western-themed song, and that's kind of where the song came from and we kind of built it around a guitar riff, really."
• During their time writing in LA, Stapleton and Wilson also penned "When The Stars Come Out," which Stapleton recorded for his 2015 album, Traveller.
• Stapleton co-produced "White House" with his wife, Morgane Stapleton, and his longtime producer, Dave Cobb.
• Stapleton laid "White Horse" down at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A, playing the electric guitar and singing. The other musicians are:
  
  J.T. Cure: bass
  Derek Mixon: drums
  Lee Pardini: Hammond B3 organ and piano
• Stapleton released "White Horse" on July 21 2023, as the lead single from his fifth studio album, Higher.
• Chris Stapleton set the stage on fire with his electrifying rendition of "White Horse" at the 2023 CMA Awards. Despite having been on vocal rest leading up to the performance, Stapleton's signature raspy vocals roared back with unwavering power, leaving no trace of fatigue. Stapleton walked away with the Male Vocalist of the Year award.
• "White Horse" didn't make the Lone Ranger soundtrack but it became one of Stapleton's favorite tunes.
  
  "It's really a song born out of almost writing on a mission for something else that never really happened for that. I really like the song, so I like to play it. It's fun," said Stapleton. "It has kind of scene changes in it musically, and my favorite lyric is 'my mind is like a cloud of dust.' I think that it's probably the thing in the song that feels most personally to me, just because that's a constant battle with me just raising thoughts of a mind that wanders a little bit."
• "White Horse" won the Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance at the 2024 ceremony.
• Chris Stapleton performed "White Horse" on the April 13, 2024 episode of Saturday Night Live. This was the third time he'd been the musical performer on the sketch comedy show.
• "White Horse" won Song of the Year and Single of the Year at the 2024 CMAs. Stapleton also took home the Male Vocalist of the Year award.
• Directed by Running Bear Films, the cinematic video for "White Horse" was shot in Marfa, Texas. It stars Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, True Grit) alongside Mae McKagan and Tommy Martinez, with cameo appearances from Chris and Morgane Stapleton.
  
  Running Bear's Stephen Kinigopoulos and Alexa King Stone explained their vision: "Listening to 'White Horse' repeatedly, we imagined a couple on the run. We wanted to add depth with the parental-sheriff dynamic between Mae and Josh's characters. What began as an action-packed love story evolved into a tale about letting go and trust."