Waymore's Blues
| "Waymore's Blues" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Waylon Jennings | ||||
| from the album Dreaming My Dreams | ||||
| A-side | "Dreaming My Dreams with You" | |||
| B-side | "Waymore's Blues" | |||
| Released | 1975 | |||
| Recorded | September 3, 1974 | |||
| Genre | Outlaw country[1] | |||
| Length | 2:42 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Songwriters | Waylon Jennings Curtis Buck | |||
| Producers |
| |||
| Waylon Jennings singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Waymore's Blues" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Waylon Jennings. It was released in 1975 as the B-Side to Dreaming My Dreams with You from the album of the same name.
Composition and recording
[edit]The song itself borrows heavily from Furry Lewis' 1928 single Kassie Jones. It interpolates several portions of Lewis' song, which itself is a tribute to Casey Jones.[2][3]
The track starts out its 1st verse recounting the tale of Jimmie Rodgers going onto state "Jimmie he's dead, he's been a long time gone" with Rodgers having passed away in 1933, 42 years before its release.[4] In the 3rd verse Waylon speaks of his marriage to Jessi Colter, calling her "a good woman" but also speaking of his struggles with infidelity, stating at the end of the verse "but every woman she sees looks like a place I came in", a very taboo line for the time.[5][6][7] He later references Rodgers once again, while closing out the song in its 4th and final verse stating "I got my name painted on my shirt, I ain't no ordinary dude, I don't have to work" a line taken almost verbatim from Blue Yodel No. 9.[8]
Chart performance
[edit]| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[9] | 110[10] |
Cover versions
[edit]- Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins recorded the song for their 1986 album Class of '55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming
- J.J. Cale recorded the song and released it on his 2007 album Rewind: Unreleased Recordings
- Shooter Jennings, Waylon's youngest son, recorded the song as a duet with Waylon in the late-1990s. It was then released in 2 different versions with one being on the 2008 album Waylon Forever and one being on the 2014 album Fenixon.
- Justin McBride covered the song in 2010 on his Live at Billy Bob's Texas: Justin McBride album.
- Hank Williams Jr. covered the song in 2012 on the tribute album The Music Inside: A Collaboration Dedicated To Waylon Jennings, Volume II.
- George Strait covered the song on his 2024 album Cowboys and Dreamers as the albums 12th and 2nd to final track.
- Whitey Morgan and the 78s covered the song in a live performance in 2024 and released it on their 2025 album Live from Bandit Town USA.
Legacy
[edit]The track has appeared in several films and television shows such as True Detective (2014), Too Late (2015), and Borderline (2025).
References
[edit]- ↑ Pitchfork Staff (August 22, 2016). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
- ↑ "Nashville Rebel". Nashville Scene. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Casey Jones". Old Friends: A Songbiography. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ "The 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
- ↑ "On This Day in 1969, One of Outlaw Country's Founding Fathers Tied the Knot for Good: "Ever Since I'd Gone Out on the Road With Waylon, I'd Been Packing a Wedding Dress"". American Songwriter. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
- ↑ "Jessi Colter: How Waylon Jennings Became 'God's Man'". Guideposts. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
- ↑ ""Poetic License" – Watch Waylon Jennings Sing "Waymore's Blues" Alongside His Wife Jessi Colter". Whiskey Riff. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
- ↑ "Waymore's Blues". Genius. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
- ↑ "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.