Original Performance: Hank Williams
Written by: Hank Williams
Written by: Hank Williams
Live Versions:
Lyrics:
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry [Live version (a)]:
[From August 6, 2002 version]
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is winding low
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide his face and cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
That means he's lost the will to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry
The silence of a purple sky
Lights up a falling star
And I sit...
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I'm so lonesome I could cry
[From August 6, 2002 version]
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is winding low
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide his face and cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
That means he's lost the will to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry
The silence of a purple sky
Lights up a falling star
And I sit...
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I'm so lonesome I could cry
The Song:
This Hank Williams' classic is one of the saddest songs ever written. Beck has covered it live three times.
This Hank Williams' classic is one of the saddest songs ever written. Beck has covered it live three times.
Live:
Played live 3 times:
Earliest known live version: December 15, 2001
Latest known live version: August 16, 2002
At the Silverlining Silverlake Benefit on December 15 2001, Beck performed a short set of six songs. Two of them were Hank Williams covers, one this country classic. (The other was "Lovesick Blues.") He was accompanied by Lyle Workman on guitar and Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass.
On his acoustic tour in August 2002, Beck played one Hank Williams song every night (for the most part). "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" appeared twice. After the first time in Denver, he mentions that much of Sea Change was inspired by Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers and their "direct kind of songwriting."
Played live 3 times:
Earliest known live version: December 15, 2001
Latest known live version: August 16, 2002
At the Silverlining Silverlake Benefit on December 15 2001, Beck performed a short set of six songs. Two of them were Hank Williams covers, one this country classic. (The other was "Lovesick Blues.") He was accompanied by Lyle Workman on guitar and Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass.
On his acoustic tour in August 2002, Beck played one Hank Williams song every night (for the most part). "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" appeared twice. After the first time in Denver, he mentions that much of Sea Change was inspired by Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers and their "direct kind of songwriting."
Notes:
- Beck has covered a number of Hank Williams' songs over the years: "Lonesome Whistle," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "I'm So Lonesome, I Could Cry," "Lovesick Blues," You Win Again," and "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It."
- The lyrics from Hank Williams' original:
Here that lonesome whipporwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is winding low
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind the clouds
To hide its face and cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
That means he lost the will to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry
The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry