Chris Stapleton's "Maggie's Song" is a heartfelt, emotional tribute to his late dog.
The country singer and his wife, Morgane, had to say goodbye to their beloved dog, Maggie, in 2019 when she died at the age of 14. Shortly after, Stapleton penned the tribute to his "fuzzy black pup," telling the story of Maggie's life from the very beginning up until her final hours.
"I told her she was a good dog / And I told her goodbye / Run, Maggie, run / With the heart of a rebel child / Run Maggie, run / Be just as free as you are wild," Stapleton sings accompanied by his wife's vocals.
"Every word and every stitch of that song is real things," Stapleton told the Tennessean. "She was a member of the family, and she deserved a song."
Hear Stapleton's tribute to Maggie in the video below.
"Maggie's Song" is one of the 14 tracks featured on Stapleton's brand new album, Starting Over. Another standout on the project is a song titled, "Watch You Burn," which finds Stapleton sending a powerful message to the shooter who killed dozens and injured hundreds of innocent fans at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.
"Only a coward would pick up a gun / And shoot up a crowd tryin' to have fun," Stapleton sings on the haunting track. "I wasn't there / I didn't see / But I have friends in your company," he sings in a later verse.
Stapleton wrote "Watch You Burn" with Mike Campbell, which he previously said was a "therapeutic" process for him.
"It's a self-therapy session sometimes. Sometimes that's all [a song's] for," Stapleton told the Tennessean. "Mike listened and ... really got it to a place where he made me feel like it was not a song that was meant to be in my pocket."
Starting Over, released on November 13, was recorded at Nashville's RCA Studio A and produced by Stapleton's longtime collaborator Dave Cobb. A full track listing can be seen below.
Chris Stapleton's Starting Over Tracklisting:
1. “Starting Over”
2. “Devil Always Made Me Think Twice”
3. “Cold”
4. “When I’m With You”
5. “Arkansas”
6. “Joy of My Life”
7. “Hillbilly Blood”
8. “Maggie’s Song”
9. “Whiskey Sunrise”
10. “Worry B Gone”
11. “Old Friends”
12. “Watch You Burn”
13. “You Should Probably Leave”
14. “Nashville, TN"
Photo: Getty Images