"Parachute" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to ...

. It is the third single from his debut album ''

Traveller Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to: People Generic terms *One engaged in travel *Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources *Nomad, a member of a community withou ...

''. The song was written by Stapleton and

Jim Beavers Jim Beavers is an American country music songwriter. Early life and education Jim Beavers grew up in Garland and Jacksonville, Texas. His educational background includes a BBA from Baylor University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. Care ...

Content

The song is an uptempo backed by

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, in which the narrator sings about being there for the one he loves: "Baby, I will be your parachute".

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' was favorable, praising the "more dynamic vocal performance" and "straight-forward arrangement", also saying that "Lyrically this isn’t quite Song of the Year material, but Stapleton’s vocals on 'Parachute' are his latest entry in a still-to-be-created Performance of the Year category."

Live performance

Stapleton sang "Parachute" live at the

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...

in June 2016, with assistance from

Dave Cobb Dave Cobb (born July 9, 1974) is an American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons . Cobb i ...

Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried "Mickey" Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or reco ...

Robby Turner Robby Turner is an American pedal steel guitarist, best known for his work with Waylon Jennings and his contributions to recordings by many other artists. Biography Early years Turner grew up in a musical family; his parents Doyle and Bernice ...

, and Stapleton's wife, Morgane.

Commercial performance

The song has sold 248,000 copies in the US as of December 2016.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Chris Stapleton 2016 singles Country ballads 2010s ballads Mercury Nashville singles Chris Stapleton songs Songs written by Chris Stapleton Songs written by Jim Beavers Song recordings produced by Dave Cobb 2015 songs