You know this old world is full of singers
But just a few are chosen
To tear your heart out when they sing
Imagine life without 'em
All your radio heroes
Like the outlaw that walks through Jessi's dreams
No, there'll never be another
Red Headed Stranger
A Man in Black and Folsom Prison Blues
The Okie from Muskogee
Or Hello, Darling
Lord, I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes?
Who's gonna fill their
shoes?
Who's gonna stand that tall?
Who's gonna play the Opry
And the Wabash Cannonball?
Who's gonna give their heart and soul
To get to me and you?
Lord, I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes?
God bless the boys from Memphis
Blue Suede Shoes and Elvis
Much too soon he left this world in tears
They tore up the Fifties
Old Jerry Lee and Charlie
And Go Cat Go still echoes through the years
You know the heart of country music
Still
beats in Luke the Drifter
You can tell it when he sang "I Saw the Light"
Old Marty, Hank and Lefty
Why, I can feel 'em right here with me
On this Silver Eagle rolling through the night
Who's gonna fill their shoes?
Who's gonna stand that tall?
Who's gonna play the Opry
And the Wabash Cannonball?
Who's gonna give their heart and soul
To get to me and you?
Lord, I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes?
Yes, I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes?
Lyrics submitted by ButNeverOutgunned
Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes Lyrics as written by Troy Seals Max Barnes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
"A Whole Lot of Trouble for You"[1] | |||
June 8, 1985 | |||
Country | |||
3:16 | |||
Epic 05439 | |||
Max D. Barnes Troy Seals | |||
Billy Sherrill | |||
|
"Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" is a song written by Troy Seals and Max D. Barnes and recorded by American country music singer George Jones. It was released in June 1985 as the first single and title track from the album Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes. The song peaked at number three on the Hot Country Singles chart.
Background[edit]
Jones sings of the irreplacibility of country music legends including Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Roy Acuff, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, and Lefty Frizzell. After remarking about these singers' impacts on country music, he wonders who will replace them when they're gone - hence, the title line - and thus become legends in their own right. In the 1994 video retrospective Golden Hits Jones recalled:
"Troy Seals wrote that...He saved the day for us...Songwriters were bringin' things in and we were listening to songs and tapes, and Troy came in and told Billy [Sherrill, Jones' producer] and me that he had this idea, and he sung a little bit of the chorus...He came back about ten o'clock or eleven the next morning before we went in to do our session at two o'clock, he had it all finished and it just knocked us out."A promotional video for the song was aired on The Nashville Network (TNN), Country Music Television (CMT) and Great American Country (GAC). Directed by Marc Ball, it also features Billy Sherrill in a cameo as the bus driver and CBS executive Rick Blackburn driving the Cadillac at the end of the video. It takes place at a roadside gas station, where the owner shares with Jones his extensive collection of albums and memorabilia from classic country music artists. At the end of the video, as Jones' tour bus pulls away, a convertible pulls into the station; its passenger is a young man with a guitar, looking in awe at the large tour bus. The video - the singer's first - won Music Video of the Year at the 1986 CMA Awards, beating out videos by the Judds, Reba McEntire, and Dwight Yoakam. However, with a new crop of country stars emerging, the song had an unfortunate connotation, with Andrew Mueller noting in Jones' Uncut obituary, "As it turned out, the song wasn't brilliantly timed. A few of its protagonists still had decades left in them, as did Jones himself..."
Critical reception[edit]
Eugene Chadbourne of Allmusic describes the song as "the kind of mystical, self-serving necrophilia that country music is all about".[2] Jones biographer Bob Allen states, "It struck a strong enough chord of empathy with old-time country music lovers to end up number three in Billboard."[3]
Chart performance[edit]
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 3 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 2 |
References[edit]
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ Chadbourne, Eugene. "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes review". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
- ^ Allen, Bob (1996). George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend. St Martin's Press. pp. 352–353. ISBN 978-0312956981.
- ^ "George Jones Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.