Meaning of “Broken Halos” by Chris Stapleton

by SMF· Published May 27, 2018· Updated September 10, 2020

“Broken Halos” is a song recorded and performed by American singer and songwriter Chris Stapleton. According to Stapleton, the lyrics of “Broken Halos” were inspired by people who died before “their time”.

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According to Stapleton, he recorded this song the very day that a very close friend of his lost his life after losing his battle with pancreatic cancer.

During many of his performances in 2017, Stapleton dedicated the song to all those who lost their lives in tragedies in America ranging from the 2017 Las Vegas shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival (which claimed 59 lives) to the 2017 California Wildfires that claimed 43 lives.

Facts about “Broken Halos”

This song was co-written by Stapleton and his dear friend and writing partner American singer-songwriter Mike Henderson. Stapleton and Henderson once played in the same band called the SteelDrivers.
Stapleton produced this track along with noted American record producer Dave Cobb. Among other country acts, Cobb has worked with Zac Brown Band, Sturgil Simpson, Anderson East and Lori McKenna.
The song was released in July 2017 as the second single from Stapleton’s second studio album titled From A Room: Volume 1.
Stapleton’s wife Morgane Stapleton sang the background vocals on the track.
Stapelton premiered the track on December 13th, 2016 during his performance at the singer Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountains Rise benefit to help the victims of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires in Tennessee.
“Broken Halos” topped the US Country Airplay chart. It went on to peak at number 5 on the US Hot Country Songs and number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100. This is one of the most successful songs of Stapleton’s entire musical career.

Did “Broken Halos” win a Grammy Award?

Yes, the song did. It won the Best Country Song award at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018 after beating the likes of “Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt and “Better Man” by Taylor Swift.