Chris Stapleton Joins Morgan Wallen on ‘Only Thing That’s Gone’

Morgan Wallen released his highly-anticipated double album Dangerous on Friday, and the 30-song project features two collaborations, one of which is with Chris Stapleton. The singer/songwriter joined Wallen on “Only Thing That’s Gone,” a plaintive track about not wanting to leave the bar in an effort to avoid heartbreak.

Written by Wallen, Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill and Josh Thompson, “Only Thing That’s Gone” adds some of Stapleton’s trademark grit to Dangerous, aided by both his voice and the song’s production. The two artists have not yet met in person, but Wallen hopes they are able to sing together in the future. “Me and [Wallen’s manager] Seth [England] made a shortlist of people that we like to collaborate with,” Wallen recently told PopCulture.com and other outlets, sharing that Stapleton was on the list.

“We sent him a couple songs and said, ‘Hey man, we would love for you to be a part of this project. If any of these speak to you, you let me know and we’ll go from there,’” Wallen recalled. “He came back and said, ‘Yeah, I really like this song.’ And I said, ‘Hey man, do whatever you want. Sing wherever you want whenever you want and I’m sure we’ll agree with what your decisions are.’ So he came back and sang what he did and we loved it.”

The other collaboration on Dangerous is with Ben Burgess, and the album features Wallen and Diplo‘s joint effort “Heartless” as well as Wallen’s cover of Jason Isbell‘s “Cover Me Up.” Wallen also recorded several songs written by fellow country artists including Thomas Rhett and Eric Church, the latter of whom contributed to album closer “Quittin’ Time,” a strikingly sad reflection on the moment both parties know a relationship is over.

“I’m truly honored,” Wallen said. “I’m obviously a huge fan of Eric Church. I’ve spoken about it from the time I’ve been in this industry and how much of a hero he is to me. So having him allow me to sing a song that he’s the writer on, it’s truly one of my favorite accomplishments that I’ve got so far. I love his style, his attitude, just the way he’s handled himself, just always really has resonated with me and just from the time I heard the first song of his, I was immediately was drawn in and was connected. And you know, that doesn’t happen a lot with somebody.”

“He’s one of the artists that I truly would listen to everything he puts out,” he added of Church. “You know, when sometimes the critics or the fans don’t always agree what he’s doing, but I’ve always loved it. I’ve loved every single thing he’s done. So this means a lot for me.” You can stream Dangerous here.