A decade ago, Chris Stapleton‘s Grammy Award-winning debut album put him on the map. Traveller peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 in 2015. Additionally, the album peaked at No. 1 on the US Top Country Albums chart and the Americana/Folk Albums chart. Since then, Chris Stapleton has become an American staple with a voice that has inspired thousands of artists.
“Fire Away” is a soulful country ballad from Stapleton’s debut album. The song is about commitment and how it takes unconditional love to support someone struggling with depression. Commitment isn’t easy in the situation, as they let the partner “fire away” their frustrations at them.
“Honey, load up your questions / And pick up your sticks and your stones / And pretend I’m a shelter
For heartaches that don’t have a home / Choose the words that cut like a razor / And all that I’ll say is fire away”
The song’s music video highlighted mental health awareness and features a husband grappling with his wife’s depression. Self-harm is involved in the video, as Stapleton promoted The Campaign To Change Direction, a mental health organization. Together, Stapleton and the organization brought attention to mental health awareness with the video’s release.
How The Song Took On New Meaning With The Music Video
In a behind-the-scenes interview for the music video, Stapleton explained, “It just came in my head as something to do. The song is kind of about loving somebody unconditionally through not-so-easy times, and the concept of the video kind of came to me as, that would be the hardest possible space in which to love somebody.”
The song’s music video gave the song new life, as it took on a new meaning. Stapleton’s record label wanted a music video to promote his debut release. In the interview, Stapleton states, “I was putting it off. Finally, they kept asking enough, and I just spouted out basically the treatment for this video, and everybody just looked at me like I had three heads. Like, it was the craziest thing. I didn’t want to be in the video; I wanted to make it about this uncomfortable subject. And I wanted to get real actors and not spend a lot of time making it a promo for me. That was how I wanted to make a video because I felt like that was more artful and meaningful on the back end.”
Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT