Desert Island Singles: “Lovesick Blues” by Hank Williams and His Drifting Cowboys (1949)

Image from secondhandsongs.com

This is by far the oldest song I’ve nominated as a Desert Island Disc. The previous record-holder was from 1966.

When I was a snotty know-it-all country music-hating fourteen-year-old, if you had told me that one day I would admire a Hank Williams song this much (or at all), I would have laughed in your face. Funny what a difference forty-some years can make. But this is a remarkable song, which shows the ingenuity of Williams and the timelessness of this song (though it was published the year before Williams was born).

“Lovesick Blues” was written by Irving Mills and Cliff Friend, and published in 1922. It was first performed that year in a musical called “Oh! Ernest.” (I suspect there’s a reason no one has ever heard of the musical “Oh! Ernest.”) It was recorded a few times, most notably in 1925 by blackface minstrel singer Emmet Miller, and in 1939 by country singer Rex Griffin. Williams listened to both versions and started performing it in 1948 on the popular “Louisiana Hayride” radio show. According to radio producer Horace Logan, “the crowd went crazy.”

Williams decided to record the song just before Christmas 1948, over the protests of his band and record producer. Its release was delayed till mid-February 1949, due to some uncertainty over the song’s publishing rights: Williams told his producer that he bought the rights from Griffin. The single sold 50,000 copies in the first two weeks, quite an accomplishment in 1949. It was Williams’ first number-one hit on Billboard’s country-western charts, where it remained for sixteen weeks.

(Turned out that Irving Mills stepped up and claimed he still owned the song. Months later Williams’ managers ironed out an agreement with Mills to share the rights. One wonders if Mills would have bothered to step up if Williams hadn’t scored such a hit.)

“Lovesick Blues” became Williams’ signature song, which he used to close his shows. It also garnered him the stage nickname of “The Lovesick Blues Boy.” On its strength Williams made his debut at the prestigious “Grand Ole Opry” on June 11, 1949, where he became the first performer to receive six encores. He remained with the Opry till 1952. In 2004, “Lovesick Blues” was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. It’s been covered by dozens of artists including Patsy Cline, Kitty Wells, Linda Ronstadt, Slim Whitman, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and LeAnn Rimes.

With the heartbreak in his masterful delivery and the tight performance of the Lonesome Drifters, Williams turned a cast-off song from a forgotten musical into a classic of country music. A Desert Island Single to be sure.

I got a feelin’ called the blues, oh, Lord
Since my baby said goodbye
Lord, I don’t know what I’ll do
All I do is sit and sigh, oh, Lord

That last long day she said goodbye
Well, Lord, I thought I would cry
She’ll do me, she’ll do you, she’s got that kind of lovin’
Lord, I love to hear her when she calls me sweet daddy

Such a beautiful dream
I hate to think it’s all over
I’ve lost my heart, it seems
I’ve grown so used to you somehow
Well, I’m nobody’s sugar daddy now
And I’m lonesome, I got the lovesick blues

Well, I’m in love, I’m in love, with a beautiful gal
That’s what’s the matter with me
Well, I’m in love, I’m in love, with a beautiful gal
But she don’t care about me

Lord, I tried and I tried to keep her satisfied
But she just wouldn’t stay
So now that she is leavin’
This is all I can say

I got a feelin’ called the blues, oh, Lord
Since my baby said goodbye
Lord, I don’t know what I’ll do
All I do is sit and sigh, oh, Lord

That last long day she said goodbye
Well, Lord, I thought I would cry
She’ll do me, she’ll do you, she’s got that kind of lovin’
Lord, I love to hear her when she calls me sweet daddy

Such a beautiful dream
I hate to think it’s all over
I’ve lost my heart, it seems
I’ve grown so used to you somehow
Lord, I’m nobody’s sugar daddy now
And I’m lonesome, I got the lovesick blues

Desert Island Discs: “Red Headed Stranger” by Willie Nelson (1975)

Image from willienelson.com

Willie Nelson’s “Red Headed Stranger” perhaps is the strangest blockbuster country produced, a concept album about a preacher on the run after murdering his departed wife and her new lover, told entirely with brief song-poems and utterly minimal backing. It’s defiantly anticommercial and it demands intense concentration — all reasons why nobody thought it would be a hit. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic

I’ve quoted someone before about how country music seems to endure a vicious cycle of having its authenticity tainted by commercial compromise; dumbed down and lamed up, like it seems to be today. Then its authenticity is redeemed, however fleetingly, by an “underground” roots movement. This is exactly what happened with the “outlaw country” movement, which led to the release of one of the best albums of any genre in the 70s: Willie Nelson’s 1975 release “Red Headed Stranger.”

It’s been called the “Sgt. Pepper” of country music. It’s a minimalist, stripped-down, unified “concept album,” a blend of disparate styles, evocative originals, and classic songs from country’s past. It’s a story of heartbreak, betrayal, savagery, repentance, and redemption, with deep emotions coming through in every vocal, every instrumental. It’s nothing short of a miracle that this album got released; Willie’s new label Columbia thought it was only a set of unfinished demos. But despite the executives and the focus groups it got released, topped the charts, and changed the course of country music.

Image from secondhandsongs.com

The album was inspired by the “Tale of the Red Headed Stranger,” a song written by radio DJ Carl Stutz and newspaper editor Edith Lindeman. Originally written for Perry Como but never recorded by him, it was eventually given to Arthur Smith and his Cracker-Jacks in 1954, and Nelson used to play it as a disk jockey on his program in Fort Worth.

“Red Headed Stranger” tells the story of a preacher, a fugitive who kills his wife and her lover. It begins with the Stranger describing his love for his wife whom he suspects is unfaithful.

It was the time of the preacher when the story began
Of the choice of a lady and the love of a man.
How he loved her so dearly, he went out of his mind
When she left him for someone she’d left behind.

And he cried like a baby
And he screamed like a panther in the middle of the night
And he saddled his pony
And he went for a ride.

The infidelity is revealed.

And I couldn’t believe it was true, oh Lord,
I couldn’t believe it was true.
And my eyes filled with tears and I must’ve aged in years,
And I couldn’t believe it was true.

The lovers are discovered.

But he found them that evenin’ at a tavern in town
In a quiet little out of the way place.
An’ they smiled at each other when he walked through the door
An’ they died with their smiles on their faces
They died with their smile on their face.

The Stranger feels remorse.

Love is like a dying ember
And only memories remain
And through the ages I’ll remember
Blue eyes crying in the rain.

He moves on, and commits another murder.

The red headed stranger had eyes like the thunder
And his lips, they were sad and tight
His little lost love lay asleep on the hillside
And his heart was heavy this night

The yellow haired lady came down to the tavern
And looked up the stranger there
He bought her a drink, and he gave her some money
He just didn’t seem to care
She followed him out as he saddled the stallion
And laughed as she grabbed at the bay
He shot her so quick they had no time to warn her
She never heard anyone say:

Don’t boss him
Don’t cross him
He’s wild in his sorrow:
He’s ridin’ and hidin’ his pain.
Don’t fight him
Don’t spite him
Just wait till tomorrow:
Maybe he’ll ride on again.

The Stranger continues southward, and there is a chance meeting.

She saw him that evening in a tavern in town
In a quiet little out of the way place.
And they smiled at each other as he walked through the door
And they danced with their smiles on their faces
And they danced with a smile on their face.

The Stranger lets down his guard to seek redemption and love.

Don’t know why, but the one I love left me,
Left me lonely and cold and so weak.
And I need someone’s arms to hold me
Till I’m strong enough to get back on my feet.

He declares his vows with his deceased wife broken, his grief is lifted, and he is free.

You told me once that you were mine alone forever
And I was yours till the end of eternity
But all those vows are broken now and I will never
Be the same except in memory

A brighter face may take my place when we’re apart, dear:
Another love, with a heart more bold and free
But in the end, fairweather friends may break your heart, dear
And if they do, sweetheart, remember me

The story ends years later where the Stranger has found redemption with his new love and a young boy, presumably their grandson.

And in the shade of an oak down by the river
Sat an old man and a boy
Settin’ sails, spinnin’ tales, and fishin’ for whales
With a lady they both enjoy.
Well, it’s the same damn tune, it’s the man in the moon
It’s the way that I feel about you
And with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes
And I found myself in you.

I looked to the stars, tried all of the bars
And I’ve nearly gone up in smoke
Now my hand’s on the wheel, I’ve something that’s real,
And I feel like I’m goin’ home.

“Red Headed Stranger” is both forward-looking and an archive of country’s past. Willie found a way to weave some lesser-known classics into the tapestry: Fred Rose’s “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,” which became Nelson’s first number-one hit and one of his signature songs; Eddy Arnold’s “I Couldn’t Believe It Was True”; Hank Cochran’s “Can I Sleep In Your Arms”; the hymn “Just As I Am”; and the ragtime/barrelhouse instrumental “Down Yonder.” All fit seamlessly with songs written and co-written by Willie and his band.

When this album came out, I was eighteen and still thought myself too hip for country music. Fortunately my parents played it in the living room and I grew to appreciate it. Willie is a storyteller who transcends categorization. This is an album that rewards attention and repeated listenings, and is nothing short of genius.