Starting Over, just like the title says, is a song about redemption. Like in a good Hollywood plot where we know the ending, but the fun lies in how we get there, Stapleton – hirsute, check-shirt, acoustic guitar, and whisky voice – is the perfect anti-hero to lead us on this tale. A self-proclaimed outlaw, he shies away from electric guitar fireworks on this song, keeping it simple with straight-up acoustic guitar, letting the eloquence of his lyrics drive the message home. The opening lines, “Well the road rolls out like a welcome mat, To a better place than the one we’re at,” set the scene for a journey of regeneration.Stapleton wrote this song as a personal testament, but given America’s open wounds after 4 years of ugly politics and an even uglier election, it takes on a more universal meaning.
