Absolutely flawless.
Lainey Wilson has been opening for Chris Stapleton for part of his All-American Road Show tour, and she just wrapped up her time with him this past weekend. And to celebrate the end of their run, Lainey shared a gorgeous cover of Stapleton’s song “Whiskey And You.”
Written by Stapleton with Lee Thomas Miller, the song was of course part of Stapleton’s 2015 iconic debut album Traveller. As most country fans know, that album put him on the map and blew up his career, in addition to the famous performance of “Tennessee Whiskey” at the at the CMA Awards in 2015 with Justin Timberlake. The entire tracklist is perfect in every way, and it’s truly one of, if not the best, country albums released in the last 20 years or so. You of course have the aforementioned mega hit “Tennessee Whiskey,” as well as “Fire Away,” “When the Stars Come Out,” “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore,” “Might as Well Get Stoned” and so many more.
It’s one of those rare albums where every single song feels like it could have been a radio single and subsequently a hit, and there’s a reason the album beating Willie Nelson’s long-standing record of 550 (set by Stardust) weeks on the Top Country Albums chart.
While I could honestly argue that every album cut that wasn’t a hit single is underrated, there’s one that’s always stood out in particular, and that would be “Whiskey and You.” It was written by Stapleton and Lee Thomas Miller, and features some of the best songwriting on the record. Stapleton compares the woman he’s missing to whiskey, singing about how the way she broke is heart is so much worse than anything the whiskey could do to him (and yet, it’s the only thing that helps):
“One’s a devil, one keeps drivin’ me insane
At times, I wonder if they ain’t both the same
But one’s a liar that helps to hide me from my pain
And one’s the long gone bitter truth
That’s the difference between whiskey and you
I’ve got a problem, but it ain’t like what you think
I drink because I’m lonesome, and I’m lonesome ’cause I drink
But if I don’t break down, and bring it on myself
It’ll hit out of the blue
That’s the difference between whiskey and you”
The song was actually recorded by Tim McGraw, Aaron Lewis and Jason Eady at various times. It’s pretty rare for a modern day country to get cut that many times, but I think it’s just a testament to how powerful that song really is.
Tt sounds like Lainey loves it just as much as I do, and she sounds great on a song that’s hard to cover… no one can sing like Chris Stapleton, and Lainey agrees, as she shared the video with the caption:
“What a run. Nobody can do it like Chris Stapleton and I got to see it every night of tour. Thank you Chris and Morgane for having us along for the ride.”
Amen to that… check it out:
@laineywilson What a run. 💛 nobody can do it like @Chris Stapleton ♬ original sound – Lainey Wilson
Stapleton is wrapping up his tour with just a handful of dates left this year.
All-American Road Show Tour Dates
August 26 – Wantagh, New York – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater with Carter Faith
August 28 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion with Carter Faith
October 2 – Bristow, Virginia – Jiffy Lube Live with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs
October 7 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Pinnacle Bank Arena with Nikki Lane
October 9 – Kansas City, Missouri – Morton Amphitheater with Nikki Lane
Please do yourself a favor and give this one a spin if you’ve never taken the time to dive into it before…
“Whiskey And You”
