Chris Stapleton Rocks Out on Freewheeling ‘Arkansas’

Roll the windows down and crank the stereo up!

Written by Chris Parton
Chris Stapleton Rocks Out on Freewheeling ‘Arkansas’
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 13: Chris Stapleton performs onstage during the 53rd annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images)

Chris Stapleton hits the gas for a full-throttle roll through “Arkansas,” a thrill seeking country rocker released ahead of the hit maker’s next album.

Full of fuzz-box guitars and grizzled vocals, “Arkansas” stands as a rowdy and rollicking blast of country rock — as delivered in a smoky roadhouse somewhere deep in the Ozark wilderness. Co-written by Stapleton with Mike Campbell (a longtime member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), the track was reportedly inspired by a road trip Stapleton took from Oklahoma back to Nashville, driving a vintage car his wife bought for him as a surprise. The joy of that trip can been heard in every freewheeling note of “Arkansas,” as the Kentucky songwriter celebrates the wilder ways of his cousins to the west.

Gotta get down, gotta get down to Arkansas / Having so much fun that it’s probably a little bit against the law / All the boys and the girls down there sure know how to have a ball / If you wanna get down, you gotta get down to Arkansas,” goes the chorus.

“Arkansas” is the third track released from upcoming fourth album by Chris Stapleton, Starting Over, which is due November 13. The Grammy winner has previously released the chilling “Cold” and hopeful lead single, “Starting Over.”