Nobody To Blame

Album: Traveller (2015)
Charted: 68
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Songfacts®:

  • Chris Stapleton has been kicked out of his home by his wife. She broke his fishing rods, poured his whisky down the drain and changed the locks. However, Stapleton is taking the blame for the breakup and though he doesn't outline exactly where he went wrong, the lyrical focus on his hobbies and toys indicate the singer cared more for them than having a good woman.
  • Chris Stapleton wrote the song with:

    Barry Bales, who is the American long time bass player for Alison Krauss and Union Station.

    Bluegrass songwriter and vocalist Ronnie Bowman, who's other songwriting credits include country #1s for Brooks & Dunn ("It's Getting Better All the Time") and Kenny Chesney ("Never Wanted Nothing More").

    Stapleton recalled: "I have a little shed out behind my house. It's about 10x10 and on occasion I write songs out there. I got together one afternoon with Barry Bales and Ronnie Bowman. I think we wrote three songs that day. This was one of the three."
  • Chris Stapleton made his Saturday Night Live debut on January 16, 2016 performing this song, along with another Traveller track, "Parachute." Stapleton was joined by his backing singer wife, Morgane, harmonica player Mickey Raphael and producer Dave Cobb.
  • Stapleton said regarding the track's meaning: "It's a song about a man getting what he deserves for not doing the things that he knows he should and doing things he knows he shouldn't. I'm pretty sure that everybody can relate to that on some level."
  • This won Song Of The Year at the 2016 ACM Awards. "You gotta be kidding me," Stapleton said as he took the stage. "I thought sure we were going to get girl crushed on this one."

    Chris Stapleton took home more hardware at the same ceremony for Male Vocalist of the Year, New Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year. He eventually ended up with six awards due to there being an additional pair of gongs in the Album and Song categories, as his own record's co-producer.

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