Ramblin' Man (Hank Williams Song)
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"Ramblin' Man" is a song written in 1951 by
Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...
. Initially released in December 1951 as one of Williams' "Luke the Drifter" singles, it was re-released as the B-side to the posthumous 1953 number one hit " Take These Chains from My Heart", as well as to the 1976 re-release of "Why Don't You Love Me". It is also included on the '' 40 Greatest Hits'', a staple of his CD re-released material.


Background

"Ramblin' Man" is one of Williams' few minor key compositions and is sung rather than spoken, unlike the other recitations he recorded as " Luke the Drifter," an alter ego created by Williams and producer Fred Rose to let jukebox operators know that the heavily moralistic recitations were not typical Hank Williams honky tonk singles. The song is notable for the simplicity of its structure, relying upon a 2-chord, minor-key, rhythm guitar figure and alternating minimal accompaniment from
fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
and
steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...
. It also features Williams' trademark "yodel." The song's three verses, all ending in the title line, are sung straight through with no pause for instrumental solos. The song tells the story of a man trapped in his drifting ways, doomed to break his lover's heart. Tales of wanderers were a common theme for Williams, and consequently,
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
as a whole. The haunting spectre of the train - also a recurring image in many of Hank's compositions - is prominent. Country music historian Colin Escott speculates that the folk undertones of the recording may not have been accidental because
the Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs from ...
' hit version of
Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter ( ; January 1888 or 1889 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the ...
's " Goodnight Irene" "had sparked a short-lived
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
craze, and it's possible that Hank saw the folk craze as an opportunity for Luke the Drifter." Williams' version was recorded in Nashville with Fred Rose producing on June 1, 1951. He was backed by Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (electric guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), Ernie Newton or "Cedric Rainwater," aka Howard Watts (bass), and possibly
Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sou ...
(organ). The song should not be confused with Ray Pennington's song " I'm a Ramblin' Man", originally recorded in 1967 and subsequently covered by
Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...
, who recorded a version in 1974.


Cover versions

*
Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...
covered the song in 1953. * Michael Holliday covered the song in 1957 on a Columbia EP SEG 7752. *
Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American rock and roll singer, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...
covered the song for
Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...
in 1960. *Williams' ex-wife Audrey Williams recorded the song for her LP ''Ramblin' Gal'' on Decca. *
Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...
cut the song in 1964. *
Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American Rock music, rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting wit ...
recorded a version of the song. * Steve Young covered the song on his 1975 album '' Honky Tonk Man''. * Boxcar Willie recorded it in 1979. * Hank Williams Jr. recorded two versions for MGM and cut the song again in 1980 for
Curb A curb (American English) or kerb (British English) is the edge where a raised sidewalk/pavement or road median/central reservation meets a street/other roadway. History Although curbs have been used throughout modern history, and indeed ...
. He also references the song in his own composition " Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound." *
The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vid ...
covered the song on their 1986 album '' Stars & Hank Forever'', a double tribute to Willams and
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...
. *
Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...
cut the song for Pulse in 1999. * The Dead Brothers covered the song on their 2000 album Dead Music for Dead People. * Williams' grandson, Hank Williams III, performed the song with The Melvins on the 2000 album '' The Crybaby''. * Albert Kuvezin and Yat-Kha covered the song on their 2005 album ''Re-Covers''. * The song was released as a single in 2005 by Isobel Campbell and
Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age ...
, and was also included on their 2006 album '' Ballad of the Broken Seas''. *
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
performed the song in concert on his 2006 American tour. * The song was also covered by
Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in ...
on the 2008 album ''
Jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...
'' * During a 2008 live performance at the Eden Sessions festival, The Raconteurs used the opening lines of Ramblin' Man as an introduction for their song Blue Veins * Strawfoot covers this song on their 2009 release ''How We Prospered'' * Mark Eitzel covers this song on his 2010 release '' Brannan Street'' * Hayseed Dixie covers this song on their 2010 release '' Killer Grass'' * Ash Grunwald covered the song on his 2012 album, '' Trouble's Door''


In popular culture

* The song features in
Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...
's 1980 play, '' True West'', playing in the intermission at the close of Act I.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramblin' Man (Song) 2005 singles 1951 songs Songs written by Hank Williams Hank Williams songs Song recordings produced by Fred Rose (songwriter) Yodeling songs