"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. Williams wrote the song originally intending that the words be spoken, rather than sung, as he had done on several of his Luke the Drifter recordings. The song about loneliness was largely inspired by his troubled relationship with wife Audrey Sheppard. With evocative lyrics, such as the opening lines "Hear that lonesome whip-poor-will/He sounds too blue to fly," the song has been covered by a wide range of musicians. During his Aloha from Hawaii TV-special, Elvis Presley introduced it by saying, "I'd like to sing a song that's...probably the saddest song I've ever heard."
Video I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Hank Williams version
According to Colin Escott's 2004 book Hank Williams: A Biography, Williams was inspired to write the song when he found it on a schedule of upcoming MGM releases. [Note: perhaps this was supposed to say, "inspired to record it"? How could it be on a schedule of coming releases if it hadn't been written yet?] The song was recorded on August 30, 1949 at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio. Williams is backed by members of the Pleasant Valley Boys - Zeke Turner (lead guitar), Jerry Byrd (steel guitar), and Louis Innis (rhythm guitar) - as well as Tommy Jackson (fiddle) and Ernie Newton (bass). As Escott observes, the plaintive despair in Williams' voice on the recording is echoed by the backing of the musicians:
- "Zeke Turner underpinned 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' with recurring figures on the bass strings of the electric guitar. A few weeks earlier, Turner had led the backing on the Delmore Brothers' recording of 'Blues Stay Away From Me' using very similar licks...Jerry Byrd played a solo of unusual simplicity, paraphrasing the melody to haunting effect, subtly adjusting tone and volume. Hank sang with unshakable conviction."
Remarkably, the song was released as the B-side to the blues "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" because up-tempo numbers were deemed more appropriate for the jukebox trade than melancholy ballads. The single reached #4 on the country chart in 1949. The song has become closely identified with Williams' legend and musical legacy and has been widely praised. In the 2003 documentary The Road to Nashville, singer k.d. lang states, "I think 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' is one of the most classic American songs ever written, truly. Beautiful song." In his autobiography, Bob Dylan recalls, "Even at a young age, I identified with him. I didn't have to experience anything that Hank did to know what he was singing about. I'd never heard a robin weep, but could imagine it and it made me sad." In its online biography of the singer, Rolling Stone notes, "In tracks like 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' Williams expressed intense, personal emotions with country's traditional plainspoken directness, a then-revolutionary approach that has come to define the genre through the works of subsequent artists from George Jones and Willie Nelson to Gram Parsons and Dwight Yoakam." Rolling Stone ranked it #111 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the oldest song on the list, and #3 on its 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.
Maps I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Cover versions
- American singer/songwriter BJ Thomas was the first to make a hit out of this song in 1966. (BJ Thomas & The Triumphs).
- The song was recorded on the 1973 Glen Campbell LP I Remember Hank Williams.
- Al Green performed the song on his 1973 album Call Me.
- Terry Bradshaw, at the time the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, recorded the song in 1976. Bradshaw's version was a top-20 hit on the country charts.
- Johnny Cash covered the song on multiple occasions, including on the album American IV: The Man Comes Around in a duet with Nick Cave, a lifelong fan of Cash who picked the song after Rick Rubin asked him what song he would most like to sing if the two were to collaborate.
- Cowboy Junkies covered the song on their 1988 album The Trinity Session
- John Waite covered the song on his 1995 album "Temple Bar"
- Cassandra Wilson covered the song on her 1995 album New Moon Daughter
- Akiko Yano released a cover of "I'm So Lonesome I could Cry" in her 1997 album Oui Oui.
- Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered the song on their 2006 album Love Their Country
- Volbeat covered this song on their 2008 album Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
- Australian singer Gina Jeffreys covered the song on her album, Old Paint (2010).
- Guitarists John Scofield's album Country For Old Men (2016) contains an instrumental jazz interpretation.
- Evanescence singer Amy Lee performed the song at the live tribute concert We Walk the Line: A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash.
- A. A. Bondy covered the song on numerous occasions including on WNRN 91.1FM in Virginia.
- Everlast has covered the song in concerts, and sampled the original for the song "This Kind Of Lonely" on the 2004 album White Trash Beautiful.
- Yo La Tengo covered this song on their 2016 album Stuff Like That
- The Queen of Memphis soul, Carla Thomas covered the song on her album Carla.
- Keb' Mo' covered the song for the Hank Williams tribute album Timeless (2001).
Chart performance
Hank Williams version
Williams' version ranked #29 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music in 2003.
B. J. Thomas version
Charlie McCoy version
Leon Russell version (credited to Hank Wilson)
Terry Bradshaw version
Jerry Lee Lewis version
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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