Some songs feel like overnight hits. “White Horse” is not one of them.
Chris Stapleton wrote “White Horse” more than ten years before anyone heard it on the radio. In 2013, he and songwriter Dan Wilson were asked to write a song for a planned reboot of The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp. The brief was simple. There would be a white horse in the film.
From that one small idea, they wrote a powerful song. Even though the movie decided not to use it, Stapleton didn’t give up on the song instead he put it away for safekeeping.
For years, “White Horse” stayed hidden. Stapleton tried to include it on several different albums, but it never felt exactly right. Instead of forcing it out before it was ready, he chose to wait. Dan Wilson later said this taught him a big lesson in patience: sometimes a great song is written for a future you can’t even see yet.
Dan Wilson, songwriter on Chris Stapleton’s ‘White Horse,’ reacts to CMA Awards Song of the Year win
That patience paid off in a big way. When “White Horse” was finally released, it connected with listeners. It swept the most significant awards. The song won Grammy Awards and took home both Song of the Year and Single of the Year at the CMA Awards.
Wilson shared how living in Nashville changed his perspective on music. He called the city his “songwriting college” because it taught him that quality matters much more than speed. He noted that, even though Chris Stapleton seemed to become famous overnight, his success was actually the result of years of hard work and patience.
The music video for “White Horse,” released in November 2025, feels more like a short film than a typical music video. It is a suspenseful Western story starring actor Josh Brolin as a sheriff. In the story, a couple is trying to escape after a robbery.
Chris Stapleton – White Horse (Official Music Video)
The video moves slowly, using the sound of a ticking clock and wide shots of the empty Texas desert to build tension. When the music finally gets loud and powerful, it feels like the perfect moment. The video ends quietly, leaving the audience to reflect on the story they just watched.
Both the song and the video teach the same lesson: good things take time. “White Horse” wasn’t rushed or changed to sound like other popular songs on the radio. It waited until the perfect time to be released.
For fans who love honest music, “White Horse” is more than just a hit song. It proves that being true to yourself is more important than being the fastest or the first. Sometimes, taking the long way is the best way to get where you need to go.
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