Lights Down Low: Trollheart's Journal of Ballads and Slow Songs
 

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You guys know how I love my slow songs. Ballads, love songs, all that stuff. If I rate an album track by track it's likely the slow songs are going to get the highest ratings, not always but very often. Not all slow songs of course have to be love songs, but there's nothing I like more than a nice solo piano, soft acoustic guitar or maybe some cello or violin, or a smoky sax, maybe a mandolin: hell, some orchestral strings really get me going! So that's rather obviously what I'll be doing here: talking about my favourite slow songs, classics, ones I know, ones I discover, and as slow songs are pretty much universal no matter the genre or subgenre – with the possible exception of Grindcore and Punk – the songs here will cover every type of music I can manage to listen to.

I'll be breaking down each song into various categories, rating it and dropping in the video, talking about it as much as I can, and perhaps on occasion comparing it to others, or even cover versions of the same song. If you want to suggest a slow song, go ahead, though I have a wealth of material to work with anyway. I think it goes without saying there will be no albums reviewed here, just single tracks, unless I happen across something so impressive that I simply have to review it. I doubt that will happen.

So let's kick things off with this one, which you may or may not know.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...eGotTonite.jpg
Title: “We've Got Tonite”
Artiste: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
Nationality: American
Year: 1978
Genre: Rock
Subgenre: Americana, Heartland Rock, Country Rock
Source: 1978 album Stranger in Town
Written by: Bob Seger
Chart position(s) (Singles only): US: 13, UK: 41
Storyline: Two lonely people in a (perhaps) hotel or motel, the one trying to convince the other (presumably both strangers to each other, tying in with the title of the album) to stay for the night.
Main instrument: Piano
Other version(s) by: Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton (1983), Ronan Keating and Lulu (2002)
Comments: Stranger in Town is one of my favourite Seger albums, certainly from his seventies period, and it might seem odd to anyone who knows Seger that I prefer it to 1976's more popular Night Moves, but I feel the latter is a weaker album that stands on its singles – as in fairness does Stranger in Town, but whereas the former tails off with the last three tracks (in my opinion), the latter never flags even once, and this despite having a rare cover, Frankie Miller's “Ain't got no money” on it. This was one of the first Seger songs I heard, and I loved it right away, and it led to a lifelong love affair with the man's music which has continued to this day. Bob isn't the kind of artiste that most people dig (or will admit to anyway), straddling as he does the tenuous divide between Country and Rock or Pop, perhaps as The Eagles did, but I love his music and this song gets me every time.

From the opening piano lines and Bob's tired appeal to his lover “I know it's late/ I know you're weary/ I know your plans don't include me” to the powerful midsection where it builds up on the superb Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and those soulful female backing singers, this song hits all the right spots. Love it. I hated when Kenny Rogers covered it and annoyingly, duetting with Sheena Easton, changed the lyric to “Why don't we stay” instead of the original "Why don't you stay", which kind of made no real sense. Stick to your islands in the stream, Kenny, and leave Bob's music alone.
Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif

Sorry, could a kind mod please remove the "t" from after the word "slow" in the title, as I can't change it now? So that's change "slowt" to "slow". Thanks.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...right_Eyes.png
Title: “Bright Eyes”
Artiste: Art Garfunkel
Nationality: American
Year: 1979
Genre: Soft Rock
Subgenre:
Source: Art Garfunkel 1979 album Fate for Breakfast and Watership Down OST, 1978
Written by: Mike Batt
Chart position(s) (Singles only): UK: 1
Storyline: A song depicting the short lifespan of a rabbit, as depicted in the movie Watership Down
Main instrument: Acoustic guitar
Other version(s) by:
Comments: It's impossible to hear this song without seeing in your mind's eye the video for it, taken from the movie of Richard Adams's classic children's novel, Watership Down, about a family of rabbits and the perilous journey they undertake to find a new home after their old one is dug up by humans. I doubt it was the first time I had heard of Art Garfunkel – I'm sure I'd heard Simon and Garfunkel at this point – but I do think it was the first time I heard him as a solo artist. Rather interesting that the song was written by a man who used to play in the band the Wombles, considering it's about rabbits! Specially written by Mike Batt at the request of the film's director, it was a huge hit, at least in the UK, getting right to the top and staying there for six weeks. Interesting too, that Chris Spedding, another from Batt's band The Wombles, plays the guitar here.

The song is a wistful, sad conversation between the writer (perhaps meant to be God, I don't know) and one of the rabbits, the hero of the tale, Hazel, who ends up dying. Sorry if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, but it's been forty years since the latter and forty-five since the former saw the light of day, so I think spoiler tags would be superfluous at this point. The narrator seems to be unable to understand or accept death - “How can the light that burned so brightly/ Suddenly burn so pale?” - and the overall theme of the song is sadness and bewilderment at the brevity and cruelty of life. A song that's hard not to tear up to when you listen to it, especially if you watch the video alongside it.
Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif

[placeholder reserved for Ki to express his outrage that I have started up yet another journal]

Another Trollheart jo...

Oh.

I spent several minutes crying with this song after learning about Richard Adams's death. He was one of my literary heroes. I wrote to him once and was lucky enough to receive a response. Art Garfunkel was the perfect choice to sing it. Nice write-up.

Nice to see the sense of humour remains. :thumb:
Like the new avvy by the way.
Feel free to suggest a Kanye ballad if he has one, or a slow song you like.

Yeah, I probably should have the journal retitled Lights Down Low: Trollheart's Gay Journal of Ballads and Slow Songs. Yeah, we won't be doing that...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ungoesdown.jpg
Title: “The Sun Goes Down”
Artiste: Thin Lizzy
Nationality: Irish
Year: 1982
Genre: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
Subgenre:
Source: Thin Lizzy's final album, 1982's Thunder and Lightning
Written by: Darren Wharton and Phil Lynott
Chart position(s) (Singles only): UK: 52
Storyline: I have no idea; I have never understood what this song is about
Main instrument: Guitar
Other version(s) by:
Comments: Proving that Lizzy could write the odd stunning ballad (and there were very few in their catalogue), this song proved extremely prophetic and tragic. Although it's not the last song on their final album, it was the last single to be released from it (as you can see above, it totally bombed) but its title certainly presaged the end of a band who had struggled with, achieved and then somewhat lost their fame over the course of a decade. I say above that the main instrument is guitar, and it is, but really the song would be a lot less without the atmospheric keyboard soundscapes of Darren Wharton, who co-wrote it. If anyone knows what it's about - “There is a demon among us/ Whose soul belongs in Hell/ Sent here to redeem us/ She knows it all too well” ???? - then please do enlighten me as I have no clue. It's a beautifully laidback song though, with Lynott's trademark brogue slightly toned back and a superb guitar solo from John Sykes, who had just joined the band at this point.

Although of course nobody in the band knew or expected this would be their final record, four years later Phil Lynott would be dead, and Lizzy as a band would be over. They've sort of resurrected themselves recently as The Black Star Riders, but it kind of isn't the same. Just as Queen will never be Queen without Freddie, it really can't be denied that Lynott was Lizzy, and with his death the sun really did go down on this fine band. Such a waste.

Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif

Thanks. I'll fetch you something sweet once I have time to compile a list. Nice journal idea btw :)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...oveHasGone.jpg
Title: “After the Love Has Gone”
Artiste: Earth, Wind & Fire
Nationality: American
Year: 1979
Genre: Soul, R&B
Subgenre:
Source: The EWF album I Am
Written by: David Foster, Jay Graydon and Bill Champlin
Chart position(s) (Singles only): US: 2
Storyline: Basic love song charting what happens when the spark is gone and the affair is over
Main instrument:
Other version(s) by: James Last (1979), Airplay (1980), Lynn Davis (1981), Jay Greedon (1993), David Benoit and Russ Freeman (1994) as well as others including Donnie Osmond and Ryan Shaw.
Comments: Soul, funk and r&b has never been my thing, yet it's hard to ignore the impact of Earth, Wind & Fire, from bouncy disco numbers like “Fantasy” and “September” to this, and at its core it's a sumptuous love ballad which agonises over what happens when the fire goes out and there's no love left between two people. The idea of clinging on to a relationship after it has petered out contains a certain note of anger in the lyric: “After the love has gone/ How could you lead me on?” - as if the woman has been continuing to pretend she is still in love with the man though the feelings are now dead. Pretty depressing really, but a really lovely soul ballad with lush orchestral arrangements washing over it, and some fine trumpet from Jerry Hey. Excellent vocal harmonies as ever from EWF and an inspired sax solo from Don Myrick makes this a deserved classic.
Rating:http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif

I don't know if this counts, but Anathema's Weather System album is full of slow but amazing songs. This particular one is my favorite.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...er_Systems.jpg
Title: “Untouchable, Part 1”
Artiste: Anathema
Nationality: British
Year: 2012
Genre: Rock
Subgenre: Prog rock, post-rock, alt-rock
Source: Album Weather Systems
Written by: Daniel Cavanagh
Chart position(s) (Singles only): n/a
Storyline: Not sure; think it's a basic love song and a song about surviving?
Main instrument: Acoustic guitar
Other version(s) by:
Comments: The first song submitted by a member (may end up being the only one), this is something I haven't heard before. I think I heard Anathema's We're Here Because We're Here, though I couldn't swear to it, but this is the first track I've heard off Weather Systems. There's a really nice kind of rolling, rippling guitar underpinning the melody here, with a gentle laidback vocal. Nearly two minutes into its six-minute-plus run midtempo percussion cuts in and the tempo of the song increases slightly, as it takes on a somewhat different shape. Sharp electric guitar now in the third minute and a more impassioned vocal. Only halfway through the song and so much happening already!

Couldn't really call it a ballad, not even a power ballad, but it certainly fits in with the idea of what I have here. Not every song has to be a piano ballad or a lovesong, and this one is really good. Increases in power as it goes along, the sound really filling out. Great guitar lead out into a sort of orchestral thing with cello or violin, slowing everything down to the original tempo. Lovely. I won't post the video again as it's in the previous post if you want to listen to it, which you should. Thanks for that, Ki!
Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif

No problem! I figured it'd be up your alley.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...inaryworld.jpg
Title: “Ordinary World”
Artiste: Duran Duran
Nationality: British
Year: 1992
Genre: Rock (?)
Subgenre: Alt-rock
Source: Album Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)
Written by: Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Warren Cuccurullo and James Bates
Chart position(s) (Singles only): UK: 6 US: 3
Storyline: I think it's about making the world a better place?
Main instrument: Guitar
Other version(s) by:
Comments: Oh hold your gasps of shock and surprise when I tell you I was never a fan of Duran Duran! Oh yes, I sneered at singles like “Rio”, “Girls on film” and “Wild boys”, though I did hide a sneaking admiration for “Save a prayer” - I'd never admit it back then of course. But Duran Duran had their moment in the sun, lasting from approximately 1981 to about 1986, four albums which set them at the top of the charts regularly and ensured the boys never had to worry about money again. But by the time the nineties hit they were being overtaken by new crazes and fresher bands, and it was becoming a case of “Duran who?” (Duran, mate: it's exactly the same word, twice. What don't you get?) and they even tried to “rebrand” themselves by appearing under the name Arcadia in 1985 but interest was already beginning to wane, and their next album, released the following year, would be their first ever not to crack the top ten, indeed it kind of scraped into the top twenty.

But for a brief moment, this song returned Duran Duran not only to the public eye but to the charts, scoring high on both sides of the Atlantic. It is a great song, kind of different to the sort of thing they usually used to put out, which were mostly upbeat love songs or enjoy yourself type of things, whereas this has more an almost universal message in it about changing the world. There's a great sort of jangling guitar intro to it, which makes a change for the Double D, and even the vocal seems, well, honest I guess. The song has a great hook and is really well put together, and when I saw it referred to on Wiki as alt-rock, well, it threw me at first but you know, yeah: it's not just another pop song. And it has Zappa's guitarist on it, so that can't be bad.
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Since you're taking recs, how about...



I'm not sure what the "definitive" recording is, but you can't go wrong with this piece.

"Clair de Lune" is indeed a beautiful piece and I will get to it, as I will to Frownland's rec. I'm not forgetting you guys, but at the moment I'm hip-deep in research on early German animation, so bear with me...

Still shocked you're a ProgMetal fan and never listened to Psychotic Waltz.
At least check out their balladry.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Starsailor.jpg
Title: “Song to the siren”
Artiste: Tim Buckley
Nationality: American
Year: 1970
Genre: Folk
Subgenre:
Source: Album Starsailor
Written by: Larry Beckett and Tim Buckley
Chart position(s) (Singles only): n/a
Storyline: Basic love song? Not familiar with it at all but that's what it seems to be.
Main instrument: Guitar (only instrument, I think)
Other version(s) by: Most famously, Pat Boone in 1969, before Buckley's original was released, then, among others, This Mortal Coil (1983), The Chemical Brothers (1992), Sally Oldfield (1996), Robert Plant (2002) as well as many others including George Michael, Sinead O'Connor and Bryan Ferry.
Comments: Buckley's voice overpowers the reverb guitar which kind of ends up being in the background, but it works reasonably well. Very emotional, but almost too harsh for me: very in-your-face when I would prefer it was softer and gentler. Might even have worked better as an acapella, given the strength of his voice. Not really my style, have to say.
Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....14D40EfVZL.jpg
Title: “Clair de Lune”
Artiste: Claude Debussey
Nationality: French
Year: 1905
Genre: Classical
Subgenre:
Source: n/a
Written by: Claude Debussey
Chart position(s) (Singles only): n/a
Storyline: n/a
Main instrument: Piano
Other version(s) by: Too numerous to mention; classical standard
Comments: I don't know too much of Debussey's work (that will change once I get my arse in gear and sort out my History of Classical Music – no, I haven't forgotten it! - but I do know this piece, as do most aficionados of good classical music. Even if you're not one, you'll surely have heard it as it's been used in ads, films, on TV, just about everywhere. One of the most relaxing piano pieces, along with Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Chopin's Nocturnes that you will ever hear. Just beautiful. Ethereal, fragile, sad, dreamy, emotional, powerful, wistful, and so much more.
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With the resurrection of my thread on rock/metal ballads recently I remembered this journal and went looking for it. Right at the back of a dusty cupboard in the farthest recesses of the mustiest vault, accessible only by crossing a very rickety bridge over a gaping chasm, fording three brooks, each more babbling than the last, creeping past the sleeping dragon and finally abseiling down a sheer cliff face - or maybe just clicking the mouse a few times - I found it, and here it is. Hasn’t been updated in four years now, so let’s deal with that.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...r_Heart_Go.jpg
Title: “Where Did Your Heart Go?”
Artist: Wham!
Nationality: English
Year: 1986
Genre: Pop
Source: Album The Final (also appears on the compilation Music From the Edge of Heaven)
Written by: Dave Was/Don Was
Chart position(s) (Singles only): 50 (technically no. 1 as the B-side of Edge of Heaven, but I don’t think that counts)
Storyline: The usual thing about a breakup, with the man in the somewhat uncustomary role of the one being left behind and wondering why it all fell apart.
Main instrument: Acoustic Guitar
Other version(s) by: Was (Not Was) which was the original
Comments: When I first heard this I do admit that I thought "hold on, that's a Wham! song! That's pretty damn good!" but I more or less steered clear of it because of who Wham! were, and how much I, at the time, hated them for their pretty-boy image and dominance of the charts with uptempo, dancy, pop tunes. This was taken from the last album released by Wham! in 1986, Music From the Edge of Heaven as well as The Final, the latter of which was basically a greatest hits album, both released just prior to the band breaking up ahead of George Michael's shot at the solo limelight. It was also the B-side of their last number one hit single, the eponymous "Edge of Heaven". It makes a lot more sense to me now that I read that the song is in fact a cover version, which is not surprising as it was, at the time, totally different to anything else these guys had released. In fact, the only song comparable at all is 1984's "Careless Whisper" from the second album, and when released as a single it was credited to Michael only, and in effect became his first number one.

"Where Did Your Heart Go?" was originally written by and performed by electro/funk/disco outfit Was (Not Was), best known for their hit “Walk the Dinosaur”, but this did not chart for them. In fairness, Wham! Had as little success really, as it barely scraped into the top fifty, unless you count its presence as one of three - count ‘em, three! - B-sides to the final single “Edge of Heaven”, which took the number one spot in 1986. When George Michael rearranged it for Wham! - Andrew Ridgeley not only had no input into the process but it looks to me like he didn't even play on the song - he kept it fairly true to the original, and the result is a laid back, soft, melancholy love song that yearns for answers to questions that rarely yield such. It has some lovely smooth sax care of Andy Hamilton, and quite a downtempo South American feel to it. Although not his own composition, it shows the direction George Michael was leaning in, and foreshadows great ballads like "Father Figure", "A Different Corner" and "Kissing a Fool"; more mature, thoughtful songs that would often take a look at social issues, and culminate in, for me, his most telling and powerful song, "Mother's Pride".

It's clear at this point that Ridgeley is surplus to requirements, and Michael does not need him. He has built his career to date on the success of Wham! but he knows he is the only real member: he writes almost all the songs, does the arrangement and production, and takes the lion's share of the vocal duties. He is, quite literally, the voice of Wham! and everyone knows it. No-one is going to wonder what happened to "the other guy", and indeed Ridgeley will later give up the pretence of a musical career. But this song does show that George was beginning perhaps to realise that the Wham! formula had been stretched as far as it could reasonably be expected to be, and it was time for a change. The party was over, but for him, a whole new one beckoned.

This is as I say a total step away from anything Wham! had done before. The guys who brought us “Young Guns (Go For It)”, “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” and “Club Tropicana” had only attempted the odd ballad over two albums and several top ten singles. The little girls didn’t want that, perhaps, or maybe they just didn’t feel it fit in with their image. It’s also possible that writing a ballad might have taken more out of Michael (look, just forget about Ridgeley will you? The guy was nothing more than the equivalent of a session guitarist and another face to put on the album so that they had a duo to work with) who slowly grew into his songwriting. Either way, this song can’t be credited to him, since as I say it’s a cover, but I do like the idea of sort of reversing the theme of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” where it asks “Where did your heart go? Did you put it on a train? Did you leave it in the rain or down in Mexico?” It’s also slightly atypical as it sees the man, not the woman, dumped, and wondering what went wrong.

While it was a little late to be saying “look! Wham! are a serious band” - they were breaking up - this really could be credited as a George Michael song. Sure, he didn’t write it, but he did arrange and produce it, and of course sing it, and to be perfectly honest, I think he should have kept it for his debut solo album, rather than kind of wasting it here as a B-side and then a non-charting single. I’m actually surprised it didn’t do better than it did, but then maybe I’m not. Maybe that shows the priorities of the teenies who shook their booties and screamed to “Wake Me Up (Before You Go-go)” and “I’m Your Man”, and indeed “Edge of Heaven”, many of whom may not even have bothered with the B-side. Wham! fans were not the correct audience for this song, and I feel George Michael fans would have responded to it better, once he had shrugged off once and for all the memory of that group.

Nevertheless, it stands for me as a very clear signpost to what Michael would achieve in his too-short musical career, how mature he already had become in musical terms, and how already he knew a damn good song when he heard it, even if his fans didn’t.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ves_You_So.jpg
Title: “For the Good Times”
Artist: Perry Como (yeah yeah shut up)
Nationality: American
Year: 1973 (original version 1968)
Genre: Easy Listening (written though as a country song)
Source: No idea; a million “best of” Perry Como albums. I think I heard it on Perry Como: 20 Golden Greats but I couldn’t swear to it.Oh no wait: it’s on And I Love You So, as shown above.
Written by: Kris Kristofferson
Chart position(s) (Singles only): 1
Storyline: A man and woman spend a last night together before breaking up forever.
Main instrument: Orchestra
Other version(s) by: Bill Nash (1968) Ray Price, Kris Kristofferson, Lynn Anderson (1970), Andy Williams, Loretta Lynn (1971), Al Green, Jerry Lee Lewis (1972), Tennessee Ernie Ford and Glen Campbell (1975), Rita Coolidge (1984 and again in 1996), Johnny Cash (2010; posthumously) and a ton of others including Sinatra, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Michael Jackson.
Comments: Look, just fuck off will you? Yes, I used to take my mother’s records and play them. It was a time when money was tight, I wasn’t working and there was no such thing as the internet, streaming or YouTube, and I got bored listening to my collection of about 400 albums after a few years. I listened to Barry Manilow (I SAID, shut UP!), Johnny Mathis, Elkie Brooks and Andy Williams (look, I won’t tell you again…) and found that there is some damn fine music there. This was one of the favourites for me on her Perry Como album (I don’t know; I think it was something like 20 Golden Greats or some other inspired title for a greatest hits album. The cover was green. I think) and it’s a beautiful song, treated with Como’s trademark croon and perfect diction. I love that about these sort of songs: there’s no dropping of g’s - it’s always dreaming not dreamin’ - and all words are perfectly and fully enunciated, with "and" being "and" not "an'", "why don’t you" being just that instead of "why don’t ya" and "I want to", never "I wanna". Class.

But at its heart, this song, written by country supremo and star of the movie Convoy Kris Kristofferson, is a man getting laid one last time before he breaks up with the woman. The reason for the split is not alluded to; he just turns to her in bed and says “I know it’s over” and then comes out with all sorts of platitudes, such as “life goes on and this old world will keep on turning”, assuring her that she’ll “find another” and that he’ll “be there if you should find you ever need me.” Yeah, right. As sentiments go, it’s pretty selfish and heartless, though in fairness I can’t say his woman is feeling and doing the very same thing, getting some before leaving him. Still, the song does open with the words “Don’t look so sad, I know it’s over”, which could be interpreted two ways.

It could be that she was about to tell him she was leaving but he’s telling her he knows and understands, or he could have just dropped the bombshell on her and she’s now processing it. If the latter, he doesn’t give her much time to get her head around it before she’s, um, getting something else around something else, if ya catch my drift. But for all that, the imagery is gorgeous - “Hear the whisper of the raindrops falling soft across the window” - and then that’s kind of taken off by his request “Make believe you love me one more time.” So we’re back to the question: is she leaving him? She must be, if he wants her to pretend she loves him, but then again… well, this could go on forever. Being originally a country song (and written by not only a man, but a man’s man - remember “Help Me Make It Through the Night”?) you would have to assume it’s written very much from a dominant male perspective. Really, the only country songs that look sympathetically at a woman’s plight tend to be written by, well, women. What about “Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love to Town)”? Hardly an understanding woman in that, is there?

The song has become so popular and famous that both Como AND Andy Williams (who I tend to see almost as twins separated at birth, and hell, throw in Val Doonican and you have triplets) covered it, as did a whole host of other people, shown above. Even ol’ Blue Eyes himself had a go, Michael Jackson sung it to his mother on her birthday (wait, what? That’s an odd song to sing to yer ma! “And I Love You So” maybe. “It’s Impossible”, sure, but this? “Lay your head on my what, son?”) and country legend Willie Nelson had a go too. Even the Man in Black recorded a version, just prior to his passing, which was released after his death.

It would probably be interesting to see what the other versions are like, especially the earlier, presumably more country ones, but I’m a busy man and time does not wait for me so here’s the version I know and love, and even if you think Perry Como’s surname is misspelt, you need a heart of stone not to be just a little moved by this.