Sunday Music: Starting Over

Change is hard. Even when it’s for the better. Chris Stapleton tackles moving forward in the title track to his latest album, “Starting Over.” It’s a life song and it’s a love song. It’s a song about reaching out and letting go. It’s a song about not knowing what comes next but knowing what matters. And, because Stapleton’s one of our modern greats, he makes us feel the contrast in every line, every melody, and every note.

I’ve added the lyrics below so you can see how he’s poetically creating tension, but I also want to point out one simple musical method he’s using too (that I’m just enamored with at the moment).

For the non-music theory folks, think of the chorus line by line. On the first two lines, notice how the chords start minor (think melancholy) and end on our major home key (think peaceful) in a quick, tidy loop. The second two lines repeat the same musical idea. Note the minor tension to major resolution in the lyrics too.

It don’t matter to meWherever we are is where I wanna beAnd, honey, for once in our lifeLet’s take our chances and roll the dice

Next, the song jumps to the chord harmonically farthest from the home key. Notice how he gave us two similar ideas in a row and changed us up with the third (classic). Picture the maximum point a rubber band can stretch. We’re stretched out to that note in the scale at the start of the fifth line. It creates space and an even stronger sense of suspense. He sings,

I can be your lucky penny

Compared to the first four lines of the chorus, this one isn’t minor or melancholy. He’s showing us he’s begun to make a statement. The next line and chord take us a single step closer back to home, but only a step. He’s masterfully drawing it out at this point, all while handing out another adorable compliment,

You can be my four-leaf clover

And then, as if the tension in the lyrics weren’t enough on their own, he lands us back in the home key – with the same chords we first heard in the intro of the song itself, all while singing the lyrics, “starting over.” It’s perfect. It’s craftsmanship at every level. I love this man and I love this song. Here are the full lyrics and the video below.

Well the road rolls out like a welcome matTo a better place than the one we’re atAnd I ain’t got no kinda planBut I’ve had all of this town I can standAnd I got friends out on the coastWe can jump in the water and see what floatsWe’ve been saving for a rainy dayLet’s beat the storm and be on our way

It don’t matter to meWherever we are is where I wanna beAnd, honey, for once in our lifeLet’s take our chances and roll the diceI can be your lucky pennyYou can be my four-leaf cloverStarting over

This might not be an easy timeThere’s rivers to cross and hills to climbSome days we might fall apartAnd some nights might feel cold and darkWhen nobody wins afraid of losingAnd the hard roads are the ones worth choosingSome day we’ll look back and smileAnd know it was worth every mile

It don’t matter to meWherever we are is where I wanna beAnd, honey, for once in our lifeLet’s take our chances and roll the diceI can be your lucky pennyYou can be my four-leaf cloverStarting overStarting over