"Down and Out" is a song written by

Dean Dillon Dean Dillon (born Larry Dean Flynn; March 26, 1955) is an American country musician and songwriter. Between 1982 and 1993, he recorded six studio albums on various labels, and charted several singles on the '' Billboard'' country charts. Since 1 ...

and Frank Dycus, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

. It was released in August 1981 as the second single from his album ''

Strait Country ''Strait Country'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist George Strait, released on September 4, 1981 by MCA Records. The album's traditional country music approach—a mix of Texas honky tonk and the Bakersfield sound—pres ...

''. It peaked at number 16 on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart and reached number 14 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks chart.

Critical reception

Kip Kirby of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the "unmistakable Texas honkytonk flavor of this record puts it in the "Unwound" mold with heavy fiddle and string guitar and ripples of piano."''

'', September 5, 1981 Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B− grade, comparing the fiddle section to his previous single "Unwound" and says that it is "easy to imagine this filling the honky-tonk floors just as quickly." He states that even though Strait sings it well, the lyric is weak and generic.
''Down and Out'' review by Kevin John Coyne

Chart positions

"Down and Out" debuted at number 78 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles for the week of September 12, 1981.

References

1981 singles George Strait songs Songs written by Dean Dillon Songs written by Frank Dycus MCA Records singles 1981 songs {{1981-country-song-stub