Released July 1955 (MGM 12029) Length 2:02 | ||
Recorded August 1948-May 1949, Shreveport | ||
"Alone and Forsaken" is a song written and demoed by Hank Williams. It has been since covered by many artists.
Contents
Background
The recording of "Alone and Forsaken" by Williams was taken from a performance on Shreveport radio from KWKH studio between August 1948 and May 1949" MGM released it in 1955, over two years after Williams' death. The singer accompanies himself alone on an acoustic guitar. The song explores the themes of loneliness and desolation, which Williams had written about on previous ballads like "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "May You Never Be Alone," but this song, set in A minor and featuring only Hank's guitar and voice, has a stark quality that is darkly affecting. It is one of the few songs that Williams ever wrote and sang that sounds more like a folk song than a country song. In the half spoken verses, the narrator reflects upon meeting his love, when "the pastures were green and the meadows were gold," but "her love, like the leaves, now have withered and gone." The darkening imagery gives way to a desperate plea on the chorus:
Cover version
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