3 Stunning Songs Bill Anderson Wrote for Other Artists

Beginning in the late 1950s, Bill Anderson was proving his abilities as a songwriter. Anderson wrote many of his own hits, including “City Lights”, “Mama Sang A Song”, “But You Know I Love You”, and more.

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But Anderson’s talents go far beyond writing music for himself. He is also the writer behind some of country music’s biggest hits. We found three songs that Bill Anderson wrote for other artists, songs that became big hits.

“Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss

Anderson penned “Whiskey Lullaby” with Jon Randall. Paisley recorded the song with Alison Krauss, releasing it in 2004. The heartbreaking song says, “He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger / And finally drank away her memory / Life is short but this time it was bigger Than the strength he had to get up off his knees / We found him with his face down in the pillow / With a note that said, ‘I’ll love her ’til I die’ / And when we buried him beneath the willow / The angels sang a whiskey lullaby.”

Anderson tells The Tennessean that the song was first on hold for The Chicks (then as the Dixie Chicks). When their career “imploded”, as Anderson describes it, Paisley asked to record the song instead. It was also Paisley’s idea to make the song a duet, deciding that the female part had to go to either Krauss or Dolly Parton. Fortunately, Krauss agreed, and the song became one of Paisley’s biggest hits.

“A Lot of Things Different” by Kenny Chesney

Anderson and Dean Dillon wrote “A Lot Of Things Different”, which Chesney released in 2002. The introspective song says, “I wish I’d have gone to church on Sunday morning when my grandma begged me to / But I was afraid of God / And I wish I would’ve listened when they said, ‘Boy, you’re gonna wish you hadn’t’ / But I wouldn’t / Oh, I’d done a lot of things dfferent.“

“When we wrote ‘A Lot Of Things Different” in 2002, I was at the point then that I could look over my shoulder and say, ‘Golly, I’d do that different if I had the chance to do that again.’” Anderson tells The Boot. “You gain wisdom. I told Kenny — I may have made him mad, I don’t know — but I told Kenny, ‘Someday, you’re going to know what that song’s all about.’”

Anderson also released his own version of “A Lot Of Things Different” in 2016.

“Give It Away” by George Strait

George Strait had a No. 1 hit with “Give It Away“. Released in 2006, Bill Anderson wrote the song with Jamey Johnson and Buddy Cannon.

“Give It Away” says, “That picture from our honeymoon / That night in Frisco Bay / Just give it away / She said, give it away / And that big four-poster king-size bed / Where so much love was made / Just give it away / She said, just give it away.”

“Give It Away” became a multi-platinum hit for Strait. He still performs the song in his live shows today.

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