Saturday, October 26, 2019

Alan Jackson - Midnight in Montgomery

Alan Jackson owned the airwaves in the early 1990s, so much so that this single was a bit of a disappointment - it only made it to #3 on the charts.  But Halloween is coming and what better country music for Halloween than a song with the ghost of Hank Williams?



Midnight in Montgomery (Songwriters: Alan Jackson, Don Sampson)
I was on my way to Mobile, for a big New Year's Eve show
I stopped for just a minute, to see a friend outside of town
Put my collar up, I found his name, and felt the wind die down

And a drunk man in a cowboy hat took me by surprise
Wearing shiny boots, a Nudie suit, and haunting haunted eyes
He said friend it's good to see you, it's nice to know you care
Then the wind picked up and he was gone, was he ever really there?

'Cause it's midnight in Montgomery
Just hear that whip-poor-will
See the stars light up the purple sky
Feel that lonesome chill
'Cause when the wind is right you'll hear his songs
Smell whiskey in the air
Midnight in Montgomery
He's always singing there

Well I climbed back on that Eagle, took one last look around
Through red tail lights, a shadow moved, slow across the ground
And off somewhere a midnight train is slowly passing by
I can hear that whistle moan, I'm so lonesome I could cry

'Cause it's midnight in Montgomery
Just hear that whip-poor-will
See the stars light up the purple sky
Feel that lonesome chill
'Cause when the wind is right you'll hear his songs
Smell whiskey in the air
Midnight in Montgomery
He's always singing there

Yeah, he's always singing there
Oh, Hank's always singing there

2 comments:

libertyman said...

Nice song, and if you didn't know, as I didn't know, the "friend outside of town" is Hank Williams Sr.'s grave in Montgomery. To whom so many singers owe so much.

Alan Jackson is a class act in so many ways.

Great post.

libertyman said...

"I can hear that whistle moan, I'm so lonesome I could cry"

Alan Jackson and Don Sampson did a great job with this, sheer poetry.