It Takes A Woman - Chris Stapleton Lyrics
It Takes A Woman
Honey, you heal me
When I'm in the dark
You are the light
When I get lost
You know right where to find me
When I have my doubts
You make me believe
It takes a woman
A woman who sees
The best part of me
Through all that I am
It takes a woman
Oh, it takes a woman
To be all I can
To feel like a man
It takes a woman
You are my comfort
Whenever I'm troubled
When I'm alone
You are my friend
You make me high
And keep my feet on the ground
Whatever I need
You give it to me
It takes a woman
It takes a woman
A woman who sees
The best part of me
Through all that I am
It takes a woman
Oh, it takes a woman
To be all I can
To feel like a man
It takes a woman
Oh, to be all I can
To feel like a man
It takes a woman
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
Quick summary
- A tender mid-tempo ballad from the album Higher that was first unveiled on October 13, 2023 and placed as track 4 on the LP.
- Written by Chris Stapleton with Ronnie Bowman and Jerry Salley; produced by Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, and Morgane Stapleton.
- Arranged around acoustic guitar, upright-leaning bass, and brushed drums, with harmony lines from Morgane that frame the chorus.
- Became a live staple in 2024-2025 on TV and award shows, culminating in a Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance.
- Lyrically a love letter to the spouse who steadies the narrator - a companion piece to earlier heartfelt entries in his catalog.
Creation History
The cut arrives from a team that already knows the artist’s pocket. Producer Dave Cobb captures a “sit-in-the-room” intimacy, and you can hear it in the hush of the verses - nothing showy, just air, wood, and a voice that knows when to lean in. Stapleton tracked Higher at RCA Studio A in Nashville, drawing on his road band’s chemistry. The sequencing puts this song early, right after a couple of mood-setting numbers, as if the album wants to plant its flag on devotion before the guitars flare up elsewhere.
Promotion-wise, the song was rolled out as a pre-release taster a month before the album street date, then took on a second life through live performances - late-night TV, Austin City Limits, and a spotlight turn at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Those renditions underline the arrangement’s sturdiness: two voices, a patient backbeat, and a melody that climbs only when the lyric needs it.
Lyrics and music review
What wins you over is the restraint. The lyric moves in plainspoken couplets - “Whenever I’m broken, honey, you heal me” - but the record breathes like a waltz. It sits around a 3-beat pulse that suggests a slow dance in a half-lit kitchen. Acoustic guitar and bass move in lockstep, drums sweep lightly across the snare, and the vocal stays conversational until the chorus opens just enough to lift the room. Morgane’s harmony isn’t window dressing; it’s the hinge. When she enters, the lines about becoming “all I can” feel earned, not ornamental.
As a singer, Stapleton trades fireworks for focus here. The tone has grit, but the phrasing is silk, riding the vowel on “wo-man” across the barline so the word lands like a vow. On paper the language is simple; on record the dynamics tell the story - a touch louder on the confessions, a softened consonant on the thanks. According to Rolling Stone’s coverage of his award-season performances, this was the cut that reminded folks he can still whisper and floor a room.
Key takeaways
- Country-soul blend: acoustic bed, waltz feel, and gospel-tinged harmonies.
- Theme: gratitude toward the partner who steadies, heals, and believes.
- Craft: economy of language paired with dynamic vocal nuance; the production stays out of the way.
- Live impact: the duet framing onstage magnifies the text’s intimacy.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
The lyric is built on parallel statements of need and response. Each verse sets up a moment of personal fracture - brokenness, doubt, loneliness - and answers it with the partner’s steadying presence. The chorus generalizes the principle: to reach the best version of himself, the narrator needs a woman who sees that best part, even when he cannot. There is no outer storyline, no characters beyond the couple; the drama is interior, and the arrangement mirrors that inward gaze.
Song Meaning
At heart, this is a vow renewed. It sketches the arc of dependency that healthy love can carry: one person provides light, direction, and belief, and the other grows into a truer self. The repeated title line isn’t about gendered labor; it’s about recognition and witness - the miracle of being known well enough that your better self has somewhere to stand. The waltz feel puts it closer to a slow procession than a radio chase; the message is gratitude over bravado.
Annotations
“Whenever I’m broken, honey, you heal me.”
The first clause establishes a pattern of vulnerability; the second names the partner as both remedy and refuge. Musically, the phrase sits low in his range, matching the weariness of “broken,” then lifts on “heal” to mark the turn.
“When I’m in the dark, you are the light.”
Classic country-soul antithesis. The track doesn’t change key here, but the harmony vocal entering on this line functions like a light switch - a production echo of the metaphor.
“To be all I can - to feel like a man.”
The couplet can read as swagger, yet on record it lands as humility - the acknowledgement that confidence is received, not conjured. The bare snare brushes, minimal bass movement, and sustained vowels keep the line from sounding like a boast.
Style and instrumentation
Genre-wise, you can hear the triangle formed by country, blues, and a subtle gospel undertow. The tempo in the mid-110s, set to a 3-beat meter, gives a swaying feel without tipping into a full-on shuffle. Acoustic guitar arpeggios hold the center while a lightly amplified electric adds inner voicings. Organ pads bloom under the chorus. No solo break; the voice is the lead instrument. The arrangement’s restraint allows the smallest inflection to feel monumental - a breath before the last chorus, a tapering of vibrato on “believe.”
Emotional arc
Verse 1 is darkness - healing; verse 2, need - provision; the coda distills it into a mantra. What starts as confession steadies into affirmation, then into quiet celebration. By the outro, he repeats the aim - “to be all I can” - not as a demand but as recognition of what love makes possible. As stated in the 2024 Rolling Stone’s study of modern country ballads, connection often functions as the engine of selfhood; this track is a case in point.
Cultural touchpoints
In a year when crossover country dominated headlines and the airwaves, this song kept faith with the intimate side of the format - closer to late 60s Nashville ballads and Muscle Shoals color than to arena-rock twang. Its televised performances - late-night TV, Austin City Limits, and a major award show slot - positioned a love song as a cultural main event, not just an album deep cut.
Key Facts
- Artist: Chris Stapleton
- Featured: Morgane Stapleton - harmony vocals
- Composer: Chris Stapleton, Ronnie Bowman, Jerry Salley
- Producer: Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, Morgane Stapleton
- Release Date: October 13, 2023
- Genre: Country - country soul
- Instruments: Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, drums with brushes, organ
- Label: Mercury Nashville
- Mood: Warm gratitude - intimate vow
- Length: 4:06 - 4:10 depending on edition
- Track #: 4 on Higher
- Language: English
- Album: Higher (2023)
- Music style: Acoustic-led waltz - understated dynamics
- Poetic meter: Predominantly trimeter lines in 3-beat phrasing
Canonical Entities & Relations
- Chris Stapleton - co-wrote and sang the track.
- Morgane Stapleton - harmony vocalist and co-producer on the album.
- Dave Cobb - produced the album alongside the artists.
- Ronnie Bowman - co-writer credited on the composition.
- Jerry Salley - co-writer credited on the composition.
- Mercury Nashville - label that released the album.
- RCA Studio A, Nashville - principal recording location for the album sessions.
- Higher - the studio album including the song as track 4.
- Academy of Country Music Awards - televised performance platform for the song.
- Grammy Awards - organization that awarded Best Country Solo Performance to the track in 2025.
Questions and Answers
- Who produced “It Takes A Woman”?
- Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, and Morgane Stapleton.
- When was it released?
- October 13, 2023 as an advance track ahead of the album Higher.
- Who wrote it?
- Chris Stapleton, Ronnie Bowman, and Jerry Salley.
- What is the core theme?
- Gratitude for a partner whose belief helps the narrator become his best self.
- What is the tempo and feel?
- Mid-110s BPM with a 3-beat, waltz-like feel.
- What live versions are notable?
- Performances on late-night TV, Austin City Limits, and the 60th ACM Awards, often sung as a duet with Morgane.
- How does the vocal arrange with harmony?
- Harmony enters on pivotal lines in the chorus, framing the title phrase and softening the edges of the lead timbre.
- Is there a music video?
- An official audio and lyric video were released; televised performances effectively function as the song’s visual calling cards.
- What makes the production distinctive?
- Air around the instruments, minimal overdubs, and a front-and-center vocal captured with dynamic control rather than studio tricks.
- How does it fit within the album?
- It anchors the record’s devotion thread, balancing the harder-charging moments elsewhere on the LP.
Awards and Chart Positions
| Year | Territory | Chart | Peak | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | United States | Grammy - Best Country Solo Performance | Winner | Recognition for the studio track from Higher. |
| 2023-2024 | United States | Bubbling Under Hot 100 | #14 | Appeared on the chart extension beneath the Hot 100. |
| 2023-2024 | United States | Country Airplay | #34 | Moderate country radio rotation. |
How to Sing It Takes A Woman
Think of this as a quiet promise sung over a sway. The piece rewards controlled breath and unhurried diction more than big top notes. Use a relaxed jaw, keep consonants soft, and let vowels ride the 3-beat lilt.
Vitals for performers
- Key: C major
- Tempo: roughly 116 BPM
- Meter: 3/4 feel
- Approximate vocal range on record: low C3 neighborhood up to around E4 - G4 for climactic lines; baritone-friendly, accessible to tenors
- Duration: about 4:06
Step-by-step practice guide
- Tempo and internal pulse: Set a click at ~116 and subdivide in 3s. Practice counting “1-and-a, 2-and-a, 3-and-a” so your breath releases on beat 1 without gasping at phrase ends.
- Diction: Keep the “w” in “woman” round and brief; sustain the open “o” vowel across the barline. On “believe,” lean into the “ee” without pinching - narrow the mouth but lift the soft palate.
- Breathing: Inhale through the nose for the first line; stagger breaths to avoid chopping the couplets. Plan a catch-breath before the chorus so the title phrase glides.
- Flow and rhythm: Let pickups float. Avoid pushing on beat 3; the groove works when bar 3 lands like a soft step, not a stomp.
- Accents: Underline verbs that signal the partner’s action - “heal,” “find,” “believe.” Keep emphasis musical, not shouted.
- Ensemble or doubles: If you add a harmony, bring it only on the second half of the chorus and the final refrain. A third-above line mirrors the record’s lift.
- Mic work: Stay close for verses; pull back a few centimeters on the chorus crest to avoid hitting the capsule with extra grit.
- Pitfalls: Over-singing the first chorus, clipping the last syllable of “woman,” and straightening the waltz into a march. Keep it rounded and patient.
Practice materials: a metronome at 116, a piano or guitar in C, and a simple two-track session where you can add a quiet harmony pass on the final chorus.
Additional Info
When the song arrived ahead of the album, country outlets immediately called out its soul leanings and the marital duet quality - quick proof that fans were hungry for something warm and human in a loud year. If you tracked his touring and TV schedule through 2024-2025, you noticed how often this piece earned a spotlight - late-night TV, ACL, and a showpiece performance at a major Nashville-adjacent awards show. According to NME magazine’s nominee rundown, the cut was among the year’s country headlines before it ultimately earned its trophy. Rolling Stone later spotlighted his awards-show rendition, emphasizing the quiet command he brought to the room.
One more note on craft: that waltz feel is not cosmetic. It moves the lyric from declaration to invitation. Where a straight 4-beat can feel declarative, the 3-beat lilt lets the singer lean toward the listener on beat 2, then rest on 3. You hear this in classic Nashville ballads and in southern soul records. The track borrows that muscle memory and wraps a modern baritone around it.
Sources: Chris Stapleton official site; Rolling Stone; Wikipedia; Grammy.com; Taste of Country; SongBPM; American Songwriter; Austin City Limits; Official Charts; Musicstax.