Think I'm In Love With You - Chris Stapleton Lyrics
Think I'm In Love With You
Whatever happened way back when
Or if I'll see you again
And maybe if you ever wonder
Aw, you might wish things could change
I know this might sound strange but
I think I'm in love with you
I didn't know it at the time
I know what I want to do
I thought about thinking it through
And every time I do I find
I wanna make your dreams come true
I think I'm in love with you
I'm in love with you
You are the power over me
You are the truth that I believe
You are my life, you are my world
You are the air I'm breathing, girl
You are the light I want to see
You're all of everything to me
You are the reasons that I am
Woman
I think I'm in love with you
I didn't know it at the time
I know what I want to do
It's making me lose my mind
I thought about thinking it through
And every time I do I find
I wanna make your dreams come true
I think I'm in love with you
I think I'm in love with you
I didn't know it at the time
I know what I want to do
It's making me lose my mind, girl
I thought about thinking it through
And every time I do I find
I wanna make your dreams come true
I think I'm in love with you
Oh I think I'm in love with you
I didn't know it at the time
I know what I want to do
It's making me lose my mind, girl
I thought about thinking it through
And every time I do I find
I wanna make your dreams come true
I think I'm in love with you
I'm in love with you
I think I'm in love with you
I think I'm in love with you
I think I'm in love with you
I think I'm in love with you
I think I'm in love with you
I think I'm in love with you
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
Quick summary
- A soul-leaning country ballad from the album Higher, written by Chris Stapleton and produced with Morgane Stapleton and Dave Cobb.
- Premiered as an advance track in September 2023; serviced to country radio as a single in February 2024; later sparked a headline-making live duet with Dua Lipa at the ACM Awards.
- The groove is slow-burn at roughly 92 BPM in F sharp minor, built on warm bass, lightly syncopated drums, and a restrained guitar figure.
- The official video (Running Bear) reframes love as memory and reunion, starring actor Andre Royo with choreography by JaQuel Knight.
- Charted on the Hot 100 and finished 2024 among Billboard’s Hot Country Songs year-end titles.
Creation History
At its core, the track is a solo write by Chris Stapleton, cut with his road-tested circle: producer-guitarist Dave Cobb, bassist J.T. Cure, and drummer Derek Mixon. The recorded take favors feel over flash - the rhythm section sits comfortably in a mid-tempo pocket, while a Hammond B-3 threads through the choruses. Strings arrive tastefully, arranged by Stephen Lamb and Kristin Wilkinson in tandem with the production team, adding a subtle lift under the confession-driven refrain. Vocally, Stapleton sings closer to the mic than on his arena belters, leaving space for Morgane Stapleton’s harmonies and hand percussion. The mix, by Vance Powell, leans intimate, with the lead vocal forward and the band breathing around it.
Visually, the August 2024 video pushed the song into a cinematic register. Directed by Running Bear and choreographed by JaQuel Knight, it casts Andre Royo as a man whose love carries him past the threshold of life, celebrating connection with a buoyant, afterlife dance-floor logic. It is an unexpected pairing of subject and sound: a tender country confession supporting a story about grief transfigured into motion. That juxtaposition clarifies how the record works - gentle on its face, it carries a quiet, durable pulse underneath.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
The lyric traces a late-blooming confession. Verse one opens with a simple question - do you ever think back, and do you wonder what might have been. That forward tilt pulls the chorus into the present: he finally says the words, then admits he missed it at the time. By verse two the language intensifies into a litany of devotion: “You are the power over me,” “You are the truth that I believe,” stacking metaphors the way a torch bearer stacks reasons. There is no scenic detour or twist; the narrative is linear on purpose, modeling how a single admission can rearrange a life in real time.
Song Meaning
It is a vow set to a pocket. The message is not about epiphany as fireworks; it is about epiphany as groove - the discovery that love has been there, shaping the room, while you were busy overthinking. The mood is warm and lightly funky, a small-club lilt with a soul undercurrent. The arrangement nods to 70s roots and R and B - listen to the clipped guitar comping and the round bass tone - while the top-line melody stays country-clean. The emotional arc moves from uncertainty to settled clarity, punctuated by the line that keeps returning: “I think I’m in love with you.” He never switches to an ornate metaphor because he does not need to. He is trying on the sentence until it fits.
Annotations
“I thought about thinkin’ it through”
That near-tautology is the hinge of the song. He says he keeps planning to plan, and every time he starts, the feeling interrupts. The phrasing turns an overthinker’s habit into a hook, and that rhetorical loop mirrors the bass-and-drum circle underneath.
“You are the light I wanna see”
Light as clarity - the line cues the subtle string bed that arrives later, a production decision that translates metaphor into orchestration. It is a small but telling touch: the arrangement brightens when the lyric reaches for light.
“You are the reasons that I am”
Grammatically unusual, but emotionally legible. He claims purpose rather than possession, aligning with the song’s soul-leaning ethos - love as transformation instead of transaction.
Genre-wise, this sits at a crossroads: country storytelling, blues edges in the guitar tone, and a soulful backbeat. The rhythm moves you without rushing you, which is exactly the point. In the context of Higher, it answers the grit of “White Horse” with a gentler persuasion, widening the album’s palette. According to NME magazine and other long-running outlets, Stapleton’s catalog often fuses Americana with classic soul instincts; here, that blend is distilled into three and a half minutes of restraint.
Instrumentation and production
Drums and bass: a dry, close-miked kit and a rounded electric bass lock a 92 BPM grid. The kick is felt, not hyped, leaving room for the lyric. Guitars: electric rhythm sits center-left with soft overdrive; lead flourishes at phrase ends hint at blues vocabulary without stepping into solo territory. Keys: Hammond B-3 eases in on the chorus, giving the hook a church-adjacent lift. Strings: introduced sparingly, they rise into the bridge, evoking 70s soul textures. The whole mix serves the vocal, where Stapleton’s rasp is tamped down to a conversational grain. As stated in a 2023 Rolling Stone review of the album cycle, he can thunder; here, he chooses to simmer.
Language, idiom, and tone
The hook hinges on a plainspoken admission. That simplicity is a tactic: rather than decorate the sentiment, the song repeats it until it feels lived-in. The colloquial “thinkin’ it through” keeps the voice down-home, even as the pocket leans toward Memphis and Muscle Shoals. If you are listening for symbols, the key one is breath - “You are the air I’m breathin’.” It is as close to a creed as the song gets, and it underlines the performance choice to leave lots of air around each phrase.
Key Facts
- Artist: Chris Stapleton
- Featured: none on the studio version; a live ACM duet exists with Dua Lipa
- Composer: Chris Stapleton
- Producer: Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton, Dave Cobb
- Release Date: September 8, 2023 (advance track); serviced to radio as a single on February 12, 2024
- Genre: Country with soul and blues accents
- Instruments: vocal, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, Hammond B-3, strings, tambourine, shaker
- Label: Mercury Nashville
- Mood: intimate, steady, hopeful
- Length: 3:42
- Track #: 6 on Higher
- Language: English
- Album: Higher (2023)
- Music style: slow-groove ballad with 70s soul string color
- Poetic meter: conversational iambs with syncopated stresses in the chorus
Canonical Entities & Relations
Chris Stapleton - writes and sings - “Think I’m In Love With You.” Morgane Stapleton - co-produces and sings harmony on - the recording. Dave Cobb - co-produces and plays acoustic guitar on - the track. J.T. Cure - plays bass on - the track. Derek Mixon - plays drums on - the track. Vance Powell - mixes - the single. Gena Johnson and Vance Powell - record - the session. Pete Lyman - masters - the release. Running Bear - directs - the official video. JaQuel Knight - choreographs - the official video. Andre Royo - stars in - the video narrative. Mercury Nashville - releases - the sound recording. The album Higher - contains - the song. Dua Lipa - performs live duet on - the ACM Awards version.
Questions and Answers
- Who produced “Think I’m In Love With You”?
- Chris Stapleton with Morgane Stapleton and Dave Cobb.
- When was it first released?
- September 8, 2023 as an advance track from Higher, with a radio-single push beginning February 12, 2024.
- Who wrote it?
- Chris Stapleton.
- What key and tempo does it use?
- F sharp minor at roughly 92 BPM in common time.
- Is there an official video?
- Yes. Running Bear’s clip premiered in late August 2024 and stars Andre Royo with choreography by JaQuel Knight.
- Is there a notable alternate version?
- A live duet with Dua Lipa from the 59th ACM Awards was officially released to streaming in May 2024.
- Where does it sit in Stapleton’s body of work?
- It extends his country-soul lane, pairing confessional writing with laid-back rhythm rather than his bigger rock-leaning attack.
- How did it perform on the charts?
- It reached the Hot 100 and placed on Billboard’s 2024 year-end Hot Country Songs list.
- What stands out in the arrangement?
- Minimalism: rhythm section first, with Hammond and strings easing in to frame the chorus.
- What is the emotional arc?
- From reflection to declaration, rendered as comfort rather than spectacle.
Awards and Chart Positions
The track’s momentum unfolded in stages. After its September 2023 digital debut ahead of the album, it was pushed to country radio in February 2024. The song subsequently entered the Billboard Hot 100 and, by year’s end, ranked on the Hot Country Songs recap for 2024. The ACM duet with Dua Lipa amplified attention during awards season, and Stapleton’s campaign around Higher also picked up major trophies that spring, which helped keep the single moving.
| Chart or Honor | Peak/Placement | Date/Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 (US) | #49 peak | 2024 | Entered in 2024 during the single’s radio run. |
| Billboard Hot Country Songs - Year-End | #18 | 2024 | One of the year’s most-consumed country titles across sales, streams, and airplay. |
| Canada Country (Billboard Canada) | Top 15 | 2025 | Strong rotation on Canadian country radio. |
| ACM Awards - Live Duet Release | Official live single | May 20, 2024 | ACM performance with Dua Lipa issued to streaming the following week. |
| ASCAP Country Music Awards | Most-performed title (list) | 2024 | Named among ASCAP’s 50 most-performed country songs of the year. |
How to Sing Think I’m In Love With You
Data points first: the studio version sits in F sharp minor at about 92 BPM, 4/4, with a comfortable baritone-to-tenor line that peaks in the upper midrange. The art is making restraint read as presence. Here is a compact, practical sequence you can use for rehearsal.
- Tempo & internal pulse: Lock a steady 92 BPM click. Clap eighth notes for one chorus, then sing on the click without drifting to rubato. Feel the backbeat so your phrases drop just behind the grid.
- Diction & vowels: Round the long “oo” in “you” without closing the jaw. Keep “think I’m in” connected - avoid breaking after “think.” Consonants stay soft and late, especially t and k, to preserve the pocket.
- Breathing map: Mark breaths one line ahead. A reliable plan: inhale before “I think I’m in love with you,” then a quick top-up between “I know what I wanna do” and “It’s makin’ me lose my mind.” Keep breath low and silent.
- Flow & phrasing: Treat the verse as spoken melody. On the chorus, resist the urge to belt the first hook. Save dynamic headroom for the later repeats; the record escalates by layers, not by volume leaps.
- Accents & inflection: Lean lightly into “think” and “love” on each hook, lifting the final “you” with a tiny upward slide to mirror the recorded nuance.
- Ensemble & doubles: If you stack harmonies, keep the third above on “I think I’m in love with you” thin and airy. For doubles, delay them until the second chorus and keep them 6-9 dB below the lead.
- Mic technique: Cardioid dynamic or warm condenser. Work 4-6 inches off the capsule, pull to 8-10 inches on the peak “love” entries to avoid proximity boom. Add a gentle high-shelf in monitoring only if you need presence.
- Pitfalls to avoid: Over-singing the first chorus; hard consonants that rush the beat; wide vibrato on “you.” Keep the line straight and conversational.
Practice materials: a metronome at 92 BPM; a piano drone on F sharp; a lyric sheet with breath marks; and, if you are comfortable, a simple two-note harmony to learn restraint. According to the 2024 Rolling Stone’s album coverage, Stapleton’s most persuasive tool is control - study that here.
Additional Info
The performance life of the song is a whole subplot. At the 59th ACM Awards in May 2024, Dua Lipa walked onstage mid-song, turning the second half into a call-and-response that took the melody up a notch. The move set off the kind of cross-genre conversation Stapleton has been triggering since Traveller - country as a big tent, soul accents and all. The official release of that live duet days later gave casual listeners a direct on-ramp, and its slightly quicker pulse compared to the studio recording shows how the tune flexes without losing its center.
When the official video landed that August, the choice to cast Andre Royo foregrounded narrative and movement. In a red suit, dancing through liminal space, he becomes a tour guide for joy in the face of loss. That framing doubled down on the lyric’s thesis: love is not only a feeling you confess, it is a force you move with. Various outlets called out the surprising pairing of somber frame and buoyant choreography; the result feels like a short story told without dialogue.
For listeners who chase the tiny choices: the drum pattern puts the snare slightly behind the beat, the bass stays round and legato, and the Hammond’s Leslie swirl opens very softly in the first chorus before it blooms. Those micro-decisions explain why the track holds up to repeat plays. As a music journalist who has sat through decades of radio cycles, I notice when a record rewards the third spin. This one does. And if you are learning it for performance, you might steal the patience of its arrangement - don’t show everything at once.
Sources: Billboard, Billboard Country Update, MCA Nashville, Rolling Stone, People magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Wikipedia, uDiscover Music, Musicstax, Tunebat, SongBPM, Country Now.