3 Country Ballads From 1969 That Remain Timeless Tearjerkers

In 1969, three future outlaw legends recorded timeless tearjerkers. Each track here connects to country music’s long history of sad ballads. But they also foreshadowed where the iconic singers were headed as the 1960s faded into the next decade. Though these singing desperados are famous for being country music renegades, let these ballads from 1969 show they can also croon beautiful, lonesome, and endlessly sorrowful tearjerkers.

Videos by American Songwriter

“I Lost Me” by Waylon Jennings

Written by Helen Carter, the eldest daughter of Maybelle Carter, “I Lost Me” describes one who can no longer recognize themselves within a relationship. The tune reaches its most gut-wrenching phase when Waylon Jennings sings, “You’ve never once considered how I felt / So go ahead and live my life yourself.” This tearjerker fittingly appears on Jennings’s album, Just To Satisfy You.

And look at the cover. Jennings is clean-cut, but you get the sense he’s just straightened up after a scuffle. As an exercise, try reading Carter’s lyrics through the lens of Jennings singing to the country music establishment. I don’t think Hank done it this way either.

“I Walk Alone” by Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson croons a lovesick ballad about a man under the stars, wandering the night, still smitten by a partner who’s no longer there. Though the relationship seems to be over, Nelson continues to pray it’s not while the sentimental track rambles on. It’s a lonely ditty, with swelling orchestration and forlorn guitar work. Written by Herbert Wilson, “I Walk Alone” has been recorded by many country legends, including Eddy Arnold, Ernest Tubb, Don Gibson, Marty Robbins, and Loretta Lynn.

However, the song appears on Nelson’s album, My Own Peculiar Way, the first to feature his famously well-worn guitar, Trigger. So Nelson wouldn’t be so alone after all.

“Silver Wings” by Merle Haggard & The Strangers

If you’ve spent enough time in airports, then you’ve probably seen your share of sad goodbyes. Here, Merle Haggard sings about a partner who’s “locked me out of your mind”. He watches them take off and disappear into the sky, along with a part of his past. Backed by his Bakersfield band, The Strangers, steady instrumentation surrounds Haggard’s low and lilting voice, like life reminding the singer he must carry on. The track fades out as Haggard sings, “Slowly fading out of sight.” And I wonder how much this line refers to his ex or, instead, how he sees himself following the breakup.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images