Waylon Jennings didn’t write all of his songs. In fact, some of his biggest hits, like “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line” and “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)”, were written by someone else. Still, when Jennings did write one of his songs, they became huge hits.
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These three Waylon Jennings songs prove that he is one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”
“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” is one of Waylon Jennings’ most popular songs. Decades later, it remains a fan favorite. Written solely by Jennings and out in 1975, the song is Jennings’ response to the changes country music was undergoing at the time.
In “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”, Jennings sings, “Somebody told me when I came to Nashville / ‘ Son, you finally got it made! Old Hank made it here, we’re all sure that you will’ / But I don’t think Hank done it this way, no / I don’t think Hank done it this way, okay.”
Jennings drew a lot of inspiration from Williams, which is what inspired the song.
“If I had an Outlaw hero, someone to set my standard and measure my progress, it was Hank Williams … He had touched me way back in Littlefield, through the strength of his songs and the soul of his voice,” Jennings says in his Waylon: An Autobiography book (via No Depression).
“Rainy Day Woman”
“Rainy Day Woman” was released by Waylon Jennings in 1974, on his The Ramblin’ Man album. The song says in part, “Oh rainy day woman/ I never seem to see you for the good times or the sunshine / You have been a friend of mine, rainy day woman.”
Both Mark Chesnutt and Pat Green later released their own versions of the song. Chesnutt released it as a duet with Jennings.
“Good Hearted Woman”
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson together penned “Good Hearted Woman“, which came out in 1971. The song was inspired by an advertisement Jennings saw with Tina Turner. The ad referred to her as a “good-hearted woman loving two-timing men.” Tuner at the time was married to Ike Turner.
“She’s a good-hearted woman in love with a good timin’ man,” Jennings sings. “She loves him in spite of his ways / She don’t understand / Through teardrops and laughter / They’ll pass through this world hand in hand A good-hearted woman lovin’ a good timin’ man.”
When the song was written, Jennings was married to Jessi Colter, while Nelson was married to his third wife, Connie Koepke.
“I think Connie and Jessi both were the object of that song,” Nelson says (via Songfacts). “Naturally, we started thinking about the ones who were having to put up with us at that particular time.”
Photo by Tom Hill/Getty Images
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