Alone and Forsaken

"Alone and Forsaken" is a song written and demoed by Hank Williams. It has been since covered by many artists. It was featured in the 2013 video game The Last Of Us, appearing during the cutscene titled bil-hun-transition.

"Alone and Forsaken"
Single by Hank Williams
A-side"A Teardrop on a Rose"
ReleasedJuly 1955 (MGM 12029)
RecordedAugust 1948-May 1949, Shreveport
GenreCountry, folk
Length2:02
LabelMGM Records
Songwriter(s)Hank Williams

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"[1] 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:

"Alone and forsaken by fate and by man
Oh Lord, if you hear me, please hold to my hand, oh please understand."

Cover versions

References

  1. Escott 2004, p. 330.
  2. Escott 2004, p. .

Bibliography

  • Escott, Colin (2004). Hank Williams: The Biography. Back Bay. ISBN 0-316-73497-7.
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