"Angels (Don't Always Have Wings)", originally known as just "Angels", is a song by American country music singer Thomas Rhett. It was released on January 23, 2023 as the third single from his sixth studio album Where We Started.
History
"Angels (Don't Always Have Wings)" was a co-write among Thomas Rhett, Josh Thompson, Julian Bunetta, and Teddy Swims. Rhett decided on writing a song about angels after reading a book on them, and came up with the title phrase "angels don't always have wings", which he thought could describe his wife. He presented the idea to Thompson, Swims, and Bunetta at a songwriting session. The four came up with a waltz melody to which they set the song's central idea. Lyrically, the song is about a "mess of a man" who describes his wife as an angel. Originally, Rhett had intended for Swims to sing the song, but after hearing the demo with Swims' vocals, decided to keep it for himself.
Dann Huff produced the song's final recording. Rhett recorded the vocals at his home studio, compiling the final vocal track from nearly 70 takes due to him having difficulty singing falsetto and wanting to show "emotion". Bunetta then remixed Huff's production by changing the bass and drum lines while adding studio effects to the piano.
Charts
References
2022 songs
2023 singles
Big Machine Records singles
Thomas Rhett songs
Songs written by Thomas Rhett
Songs written by Julian Bunetta
Songs written by Josh Thompson (singer) Song recordings produced by Dann Huff