Songfacts®:

• Kacey Musgraves first met her future husband Ruston Kelly when she attended a showcase for songwriters at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in March 2016. As soon as Kelly started performing, Musgraves knew she wanted to write with him. They set a writing appointment for that May, and when they got together the pair immediately connected. They talked and laughed and enjoyed each other's company so much, Kelly didn't leave until about 3 a.m.
  
  Musgraves soon fell in love and penned "Butterflies" about Kelly coming into her life. The pair married on October 14, 2017, but sadly, theirs isn't a happily-ever-after story. Their marriage hit the rocks, and the two filed for divorce in July 2020.
  
  This song is the title track of Star-Crossed, an album inspired by Musgraves' process of heartache and healing following the breakdown of her marriage.
• "Star-Crossed" is the opening song and sets the scene for the rest of the album. Over a Latin guitar, Musgraves mournfully recounts signing the divorce papers and Kelly moving out of the home they'd made together. Unlike many songs that deal with divorce, in this one there's no blame attached.
• Recorded in Nashville in early 2021 in under three weeks, Star-Crossed is an epic concept album structured as a three-act tragedy in the style of classic Greek theater and Shakespeare. Musgraves accompanied the record with a 50-minute film version, also called Star-Crossed,, directed by Barbia Zeinali and co-written with the director and Musgraves herself. Actors Eugene Levy and Victoria Pedretti, singer-songwriter Princess Nokia, RuPaul's Drag Race winner Symone, and comedian Megan Stalter all make cameos.
• Some of Musgraves' country music friends contribute background vocals. They include T.J. and John Osborne of the Brothers Osborne, their sister Natalie, John Osborne's wife, Lucie Silvas, The Black Keys backup singer Leisa Hans, and Daniel Tashian.
• The instrumentation is:
  
  12 String Acoustic Guitar: Todd Lombardo
  Acoustic Guitar: Todd Lombardo
  Nylon String Guitar: Todd Lombardo
  Baritone Guitar: Daniel Tashian
  Bass: Ian Fitchuk
  Harp: Daniel Tashian and Kirsten Agresta Copely
  Keyboards: Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk
  Piano: Ian Fitchuk
  Percussion: Ian Fitchuk