Can we just get an album of Chris Stapleton singing the songs he’s written for other artists? Please? Because if you’ve ever heard him perform “Drink A Beer” — the heartbreaking ballad he penned for Luke Bryan — you know it’s one of those rare songs that feels bigger than music itself.
Long before Stapleton became a household name, before the Traveller album and that iconic CMA Awards performance with Justin Timberlake in 2015, he was already shaping the sound of country music from behind the curtain. He’d been grinding for years, first with The SteelDrivers and later with The Jompson Brothers, quietly writing songs that others would take to the top of the charts.
One of those songs was “Drink A Beer.” Released by Luke Bryan in 2013, it struck a chord with fans everywhere — not because it was flashy, but because it was raw, stripped down, and painfully real. Bryan himself called it “the coolest sad song ever.” To him, it wasn’t just a song — it was a tribute. Both his brother and sister had died tragically, and later his brother-in-law passed suddenly as well, leaving Bryan and his wife to raise their nieces and nephew. For Luke, “Drink A Beer” became a vessel of grief and healing.
Stapleton co-wrote the song with Jim Beavers, who walked into the writing session with the chorus already in hand. Stapleton suggested it should be about loss, about saying goodbye to someone far too soon. In typical Stapleton fashion, he later brushed off the praise with humility:
“The beautiful thing about Luke Bryan recording this song is that it was written from a fictitious place. When Luke took it on, it got life, because of his family history and the losses he’s had… That’s when the magic happens — when the right song finds the right artist.”
But here’s the thing: when Stapleton sings “Drink A Beer” himself, it hits differently. His gravelly, soul-soaked voice brings a darker, deeper ache to the song — one that feels like it belongs to every listener who’s ever lost someone they loved.
There’s an unforgettable video of Stapleton and his wife, Morgane, performing the song at Musicians Corner in Nashville back in 2014. The intimacy of that moment, especially the haunting note he holds at the end, is enough to stop you cold. And then there’s the 2013 performance with Luke Bryan in West Virginia, where Bryan urged Stapleton to really let loose — and he did. Listening to that, it almost feels criminal that it took another two years before the world fully realized who Chris Stapleton was.
Luke Bryan has said the song was a blessing the first time he heard it:
“Somebody emailed it to me, I listened to it and it just tore me to pieces. I knew it was going to be an amazing thing for me. I walked onto my tour bus that night and played it for my band. It floored them too. We were blessed to get our hands on that one.”
Blessed, indeed. Because “Drink A Beer” is one of those rare country songs that doesn’t just tell a story — it becomes part of people’s stories. And whether Luke Bryan is singing it for his family, or Chris Stapleton is breathing his own soul into it, the song continues to echo through country music as one of the most powerful ballads of the last two decades.
