Chris Stapleton did a little soul-searching in the desert to really find his “voice” for his solo debut album, Traveller, which comes out Tuesday (May 5th). The collection leads off with the title track, the song that really helped guide the album’s direction.

“My father passed away in October 2013, and [I] had a single die around the same time on radio, so I needed a little head clearing space. My wife had the presence of mind to know me well enough that I needed that. She bought me an old jeep out in Phoenix, Arizona, and we flew out there and decided to drive it home,” recalls Chris. “Along the way, just driving through the desert, I was thinking about life and how we’re all just passing through it and that’s what the song is. So, as I was driving, I was humming lyrics into my phone and wrote the song then and there. Somewhere in New Mexico, probably, that song was born.”

Chris, who penned the No. 1 hits “Drink a Beer” for Luke Bryan, “Never Wanted Nothing More” for Kenny Chesney, George Strait’s “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright,” “Come Back Song” for Darius Rucker and “Your Man” for Josh Turner, wrote or co-wrote 12 of the 14 songs on the new project. The other two are covers of “Tennessee Whiskey,” which was recorded by David Allan Coe, as well as George Jones (and written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove), and “Was It 26,” which was recorded by Charlie Daniels and written by Don Sampson.

You can catch Chris performing on ABC’s The View on Tuesday.