The death of a musical legend often imbues new meaning into their final works. Seemingly innocent tracks turn into uncanny premonitions of impending tragedy. (Even if an artist had no way of knowing what was to come.) In other instances, an aging musician will know they’re nearing the end of their life. So, they consciously choose to leave behind a final swan song, with its sentiments deepening and becoming more impactful upon their passing.
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Take, for example, these six final songs by country legends of the 20th century. Not everyone on this list knew that the end was near when they cut these tracks in the studio. That would have been impossible. Still, listening back to the lyrics now, it’s hard to ignore the nagging suspicion that somehow, some way, the musicians knew what was coming after all.
“Like The 309” by Johnny Cash
In the years leading up to his death on September 12, 2003, Johnny Cash was working on a musical archive series called American. “Like The 309” was the last song he recorded for the collection. But technically, it was his penultimate track. Cash recorded a version of “Engine 143” for a Carter Family tribute album his son was producing later that day.
Regardless, “Like The 309” seems like an appropriate farewell for the train-loving country singer. “I’m not cryin’ nor the whinin’ kind, til I hear the whistle of the 309 / Put me in my box on the 309.”
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” by Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell’s 2013 track, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”, is all the more devastating when one considers that he knew it was likely the last song he would ever record. After receiving an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis in 2001, Campbell’s health deteriorated, which was touched upon in the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me.
“I’m still here, but yet I’m gone / I don’t play guitar or sing my songs / They never defined who I am.”
“I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive” by Hank Williams
When Hank Williams first released “I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive”, it was a comical, “oh, shucks,” self-deprecating song about a man with bad luck. After Williams died on New Year’s Day 1953 in the backseat of his car, the song took on a darker meaning.
“Everything’s against me, and it’s got me down / If I jumped in the river, I would probably drown / No matter how I struggle and strive, I’ll never get out of this world alive.”
“Kern River Blues” by Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard released “Kern River Blues” on February 9, 2016, nearly two months to the day before his death on his 79th birthday. The non-album single reflected on Haggard’s experience leaving Bakersfield, California, oscillating between wistfulness and political outrage. The first verse, even if it’s a little eccentric, seems especially poignant in the shadow of his passing.
“I’m leavin’ town tomorrow, get my breakfast in the sky / Well, I’m leavin’ in the early morning, eat my breakfast in the sky / Be a donut on a paper, drink my coffee on the fly.”
“Goin’ Down Rockin’” by Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings is just the kind of rough-and-tumble country legend who would release a song called “Goin’ Down Rockin’” as his final farewell. The unapologetic track opened Jennings’ 46th studio album, Goin’ Down Rockin’: The Last Recordings, which featured several unreleased songs that Jennings never put out before his death.
“I can’t change my way of doin’, it’s gonna lay like it falls / If I can’t go down rockin’, I ain’t gonna go down at all.”
“An Old Memory Like Me” by Conway Twitty
“An Old Memory Like Me” appeared on Conway Twitty’s last album, Final Touches, and it definitely reads like a long, sentimental goodbye. Tucked in the middle of the album as Track No. 7, “An Old Memory Like Me” sounds more and more like a message from beyond the grave with each new year.
“There’s a bottle of champagne, it’s French 59 / But you might as well drink it to happier times / Is there room in your heart for an old memory like me?”
Photo Scott Gries/Getty Images
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