It did eventually get released, and that’s what matters… But a whole decade is a long time to wait to put out a song this good. Chris Stapleton scored another #1 hit in 2024, when the lead single from his album Higher, “White Horse,” topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It would go on to win  the Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance and Country Song at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, in addition to winning Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 58th Annual Country Music Association Awards. The sound is right in Chris’ wheelhouse in terms of his country, bluesy sound that we all know and love, where he sings about running from love and how he’s certainly now cowboy who’s going to save this girl and ride off into the sunset with her. Though it seems obvious it would be such a huge hit, Stapleton certainly didn’t rush to get it out, waiting for the right time and project to eventually release it. In an interview with The Tennessean, Stapleton’s co-writer, Dan Wilson, said they wrote it in 2013, and it was actually written to potentially be featured on the soundtrack for The Lone Ranger movie remake starring Johnny Depp. They took inspiration from the fact that, since the movie was a remake, they knew the signature white horse would be in it, so they ran with it. Stapleton knew he wanted to call it “White Horse,” and they were off to the races. But the song got put on the back burner, but Wilson and Stapleton continued writing together, and for whatever reason, ten years later, Stapleton decided to cut it. He could never make it work for an album before, but Higher was the perfect fit: “I saw Chris throughout that time and we wrote more songs after that. Then, to my surprise, many years later, he let me know they had cut the record and they were going to put it out. What I learned later is they tried it on the album before and it didn’t work and the album before that and it didn’t work. But they just kept trying to make the magical version of that song.” Wilson explained that the final studio cut is pretty similar to their first demo, though there are a few differences: “It was in a weird way pretty close to the demo Chris and I originally made except there were some crucial differences. One of the biggest differences was the song starts out so slow and has an organ and guitar introduction. It just kind of takes its time and then they play that crazy rock riff we had on the demo. Then it’s like an epic tale. When I heard the rest of it, I was like ‘This is incredible.'” It’s probably for the best that they did wait all those years to put it out, because once he finally did, it took off and became a huge song and the perfect way to kick off a new album. And sometimes, it just takes a while for the right album to come along for a certain song, and “White Horse” finally found its place on Higher, and even though it didn’t make the soundtrack for “Lone Ranger,” Stapleton turned the music video into a cinematic experience with Josh Brolin: “White Horse” The post Chris Stapleton Actually Wrote “White Horse” Over 10 Years Ago For The Johnny Depp ‘Lone Ranger’ Remake first appeared on Whiskey Riff.