“Broken Halos” by Chris Stapleton

“Broken Halos” album art
Credit: Wikipedia

“Broken Halos,” co-written by Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson, is the perfect country ballad to listen to when you need a good, cleansing cry. The first single off Stapleton’s second album, “From a Room: Volume 1,” “Broken Halos” seems written with that exact intention in mind, as long as you don’t interpret the lyrics too closely. 

An Award-Winning Tribute Song for Tragedies

According to American Songwriter magazine, “Broken Halos” made its unofficial debut when Stapleton performed at Dolly Parton’s 2016 benefit concert, Smoky Mountains Rise, which raised money for the victims of the wildfires that had ravaged parts of Tennessee.

Shortly after, at the 2017 Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Stapleton introduced “Broken Halos” as a song that had been written years before its release in honor of his late friend, Mike: “This is a sort of new song. It’s an old song for me,” he explained. “It’s a song about people who have passed away before their time. I recorded this on the day a friend of mine passed away from pancreatic cancer. He was the same age as me. We played little league together. He was 38 years old. This is for my buddy, Mike.” 

Later that year, Stapleton performed “Broken Halos” at the Bridgestone Arena in Music City, dedicating the song to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting during a music festival. 

The song was a raging hit, eventually winning Best Country Song at the 60th Grammy Awards, along with Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 52nd Country Music Association Awards. The time was ripe for a song offering a comforting message of remembrance and hope; This country is never short of national tragedies, so one could even argue that Stapleton was discerning in selecting which disasters to honor with his heartfelt homage to people who passed away before their time.

Mangled Metaphors

During an interview with Howard Stern, Stapleton revealed that he and co-writer Mike Henderson had drawn inspiration for the song’s title from a quote in Keith Richards’ memoir, “Life,” which Henderson had been reading at the time. “There was a line that he was talking about friends that he had lost over time that had gone on before their time, for various reasons, and he referred to them as broken halos, and so we thought that was worth a song.” 

Chris Stapleton performs in 2022
Credit: Shawn Miller/Library of Congress

The issue, as mentioned earlier, is that this imagery is a bit muddled for the purpose Stapleton had in mind. As a figure of speech, a broken or tarnished halo would usually be a symbol of a virtuous person who has fallen from grace and onto hard times. (In Keith Richards’ case, the friends he lost “too young” were likely those who perished due to overdose or the tumultuous rock and roll lifestyle — icons in the music industry who died under less-than-auspicious circumstances.) The phrase “broken halos that used to shine,” a line in the chorus, implies a loss of purity and innocence. 

However, Stapleton’s song is ostensibly about the selfless people who enter our lives and change it for the better:

Chorus:

Seen my share of broken halos

Folded wings that used to fly

They’ve all gone wherever they go

Broken halos that used to shine

 

Angels come down from the heavens

Just to help us on our way

Come to teach us then they leave us

And they find some other soul to save

[Chorus]

Don’t go looking for the reasons

Don’t go asking Jesus why

We’re not meant to know the answers

They belong to the by and by 

They belong to the by and by

Are the people with broken halos different from the ones who come down to save others (because wouldn’t their halos presumably be shiny and intact?) 

Ambiguity Aside, “Broken Halos” Offers Solace

Metaphor-induced confusion aside, “Broken Halos” is still an incredibly touching song that elicits powerful emotions. In Rolling Stone, Chris Parton writes that the song “offers a tender, lump-in-your-throat reminder to keep the faith, even in the midst of tragedy. Angels appear to help us on our way, Stapleton sings, but when their job is done they leave … and we’re not meant to understand why.” 

The instinctive desire to “look for reasons” after losing someone you love is a relatable experience, one that often conjures up feelings that can be difficult to parse. For someone going through this part of the mourning process, “Broken Halos” could be the perfect catalyst for a healthy, cathartic cry.