I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Encyclopedia
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American
country music
singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. 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.
Rolling Stone
ranked it #111 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It's the second oldest song on the list, and one of only two from the 1940s.
with Nick Cave
, Marty Robbins
, Ray Charles
, Dean Martin
, Al Green, Gary Morris
, Stephan Eicher
, B. J. Thomas
(this version was a U.S. chart hit, peaking at #8), Cassandra Wilson
, Dottie West
, Diamanda Galás
, Freddy Fender
, The Raveonettes
, The Mountain Goats
, The Cowboy Junkies
, Volbeat, and Atlas Sound
.
Williams' version ranked #29 in CMT
's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music in 2003.
B. J. Thomas
Charlie McCoy
Terry Bradshaw
Jerry Lee Lewis
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song about loneliness was largely inspired by his troubled relationship with wife Audrey Sheppard
Audrey Williams
Audrey Mae Sheppard , better known as Audrey Williams, was an American musician and the first wife of country music icon Hank Williams, mother of Hank Williams, Jr...
. With evocative lyrics, such as the opening lines "Hear that lonesome whip-poor-will
Whip-poor-will
The Eastern Whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus, is a medium-sized nightjar from North and Central America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less often seen because of its superior camouflage...
/He sounds too blue to fly," the song has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by a wide range of musicians.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked it #111 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It's the second oldest song on the list, and one of only two from the 1940s.
Cover versions
Among those who have recorded the song following Williams' death include Johnny CashJohnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
with Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
, Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, Al Green, Gary Morris
Gary Morris
Gary Gwyn Morris is an American country music artist who charted a string of countrypolitan-styled hit songs throughout the 1980s....
, Stephan Eicher
Stephan Eicher
Stephan Eicher is a Swiss singer.His songs are sung in a variety of languages, including French, German, English, Italian, Swiss-German, and Romanche and sometimes he even uses different languages in the same piece.His success started in German-speaking countries in the 1980s when as part of the...
, B. J. Thomas
B. J. Thomas
Billy Joe "B. J." Thomas is an American popular singer known for his chart-topping hits in the 1960s and 1970s—appearing on the pop, adult contemporary, country and Hot 100 charts.-Career:...
(this version was a U.S. chart hit, peaking at #8), Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
, Dottie West
Dottie West
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
, Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
, Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Garza Huerta in San Benito, Texas, United States, was a Mexican-American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados...
, The Raveonettes
The Raveonettes
The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments, and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals...
, The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats is an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker....
, The Cowboy Junkies
Cowboy Junkies
Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins , Michael Timmins , Peter Timmins and Alan Anton ....
, Volbeat, and Atlas Sound
Atlas Sound
Bradford James Cox is an American musician best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Atlanta, Georgia-based psychedelic and ambient band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound. Cox formed Deerhunter with drummer Moses Archuleta in 2001. The band has released...
.
- Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
and Nick CaveNick CaveNicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
recorded a duet version of the song on Cash's critically acclaimed album American IV: The Man Comes AroundAmerican IV: The Man Comes AroundAmerican IV: The Man Comes Around is the fourth album in the American series by Johnny Cash, released in 2002. The majority of songs are covers which Cash performs in his own spare style, with help from producer Rick Rubin... - Marty RobbinsMarty RobbinsMartin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
recorded a version of this song. - Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
sings a version of the song in his hotel room in the documentary film Dont Look BackDont Look BackDont Look Back is a 1967 documentary film by D.A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in the United Kingdom.In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically... - Bill FrisellBill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
plays an instrumental version on the 2000 album Ghost Town. - Jimmie Dale GilmoreJimmie Dale GilmoreJimmie Dale Gilmore is a country singer, songwriter, actor, recording artist and producer, currently living in Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
recorded the song on his 1993 album Spinning Round the Sun. - The song was recorded by country singer Wynonna JuddWynonna JuddWynonna Ellen Judd is an American country music singer. Her solo albums and singles are all credited to the singular name Wynonna. Wynonna first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother, Naomi, in the country music duo The Judds...
for her 2009 album, Sing: Chapter 1Sing: Chapter 1Sing: Chapter 1 is a studio album from country music singer Wynonna Judd, released on February 3, 2009. It is her seventh solo studio album and the follow-up to her 2003 album What the World Needs Now Is Love and her holiday-themed 2006 release A Classic Christmas...
. - Little RichardLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
covered the song on his 1971 album, The King of Rock and RollThe King of Rock and RollThe King of Rock and Roll was Little Richard's second album for Reprise Records, a follow-up album that was composed of originals like "Green Power" and cover versions of tracks by artists as diverse as Hank Williams, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Three Dog Night, and The Rolling Stones... - The punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
cover bandCover bandA cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
Me First and the Gimme GimmesMe First and the Gimme GimmesMe First and the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in 1995. The Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. The band is named after a children's book of the same name by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane V. Cirincione...
has covered this song for their 2006 country-themed album Love Their CountryLove Their CountryLove Their Country is the fifth studio album, and sixth overall by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. It was released on October 17, 2006 by Fat Wreck Chords. The album consists of cover versions of country and western songs....
. - Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
did a version of the song in his popular Aloha from HawaiiAloha from HawaiiAloha from Hawaii is a music concert that was headlined by Elvis Presley, and was broadcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973. It is the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history, viewed by an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide. The concert took place at the...
TV-special (Presley introduced the song by saying "I'd like to sing a song that's...probably the saddest song I've ever heard."). - Danish Metal/Country/Blues band Volbeat covered this song for their 2008 album Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac BloodGuitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood-Credits:* Michael Poulsen - vocals, guitar* Jon Larsen - drums* Anders Kjølholm - bass* Thomas Bredahl - guitar-Chart positions:...
. - Yo La TengoYo La TengoYo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...
used to play this song at their shows since 2005. - Akiko YanoAkiko Yanois a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer. She was born as Akiko Suzuki in Tokyo and raised in Aomori, Aomori, and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s...
recorded this song with Pat MethenyPat MethenyPatrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
in her album Oui Oui.
Hank Williams version
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Billboard Country Singles | b-side of #2 "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" |
| 1966 | Billboard Country Singles | #43 |
Williams' version ranked #29 in CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music in 2003.
B. J. ThomasB. J. ThomasBilly Joe "B. J." Thomas is an American popular singer known for his chart-topping hits in the 1960s and 1970s—appearing on the pop, adult contemporary, country and Hot 100 charts.-Career:...
version
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Billboard Pop Singles Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
#8 |
Charlie McCoyCharlie McCoyCharles "Charlie" Ray McCoy is an American musician noted for his harmonica playing. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records...
version
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Billboard Country Singles | #23 |
Leon Russell version (credited to Hank Wilson)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 78 |
Terry BradshawTerry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
version
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Billboard Country Singles | #17 |
Jerry Lee LewisJerry Lee LewisJerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
version
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Billboard Country Singles | #43 |