"Easy From Now On" is a song written by

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...

and

Susanna Clark Susanna Talley Clark (March 11, 1939 – June 27, 2012) was an American artist and country/folk songwriter. She was married to Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark and had a close personal friendship with fellow singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. ...

, 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

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

. It was released in 1978 as the second single from the album ''

Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town ''Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town'' is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1978. The album reached number 3 on the Billboard Charts, ''Billboard'' charts, with three charting singles: "To Daddy" (wr ...

''. The song reached number 12 on the ''

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 ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. and number 5 on the RPM Canadian chart.

Background

Susannah Clark called her friend Carter with the line "Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town" from which the song originated. Carter played the finished song for Emmylou Harris, who included it as the first track on the album, Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town. A painting by Clark, also an artist, of a crescent moon over a dark road serves as the album's cover. The song launched Carter's career as a songwriter and opened doors for her as a performer. The song is included on the album '' Profile: Best of Emmylou Harris'', also released in 1978.

Legacy

Country artist

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

covered the song for her second studio album ''

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' is an American romantic musical comedy-drama television series that premiered on October 12, 2015, on The CW and ran for four seasons, ending on April 5, 2019. The series was created, written, and directed by Rachel Bloo ...

''. Lambert has stated that the line "When the mornin' comes and it's time for me to leave/Don't worry about me, I got a wild card up my sleeve" has resonated with her, and served as inspiration for the title of her 2019 studio album, ''

Wildcard Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

''. Lambert's second single from the album, "

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...

", also features the lyric "I've got a wildcard up my sleeve." Americana Band Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) have cited the song as an influence, calling it a “smart and perfect country song.” In a list of cozy songs for autumn, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine called the song "gorgeous" and "great for a midnight drive."

Additional cover versions

* Country artist

Suzy Bogguss Susan Kay Bogguss (born December 30, 1956) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She began her career in the 1980s as a solo singer. In the 1990s, six of her songs were Top 10 hits, three albums were certified gold, and one album re ...

recorded the song in 1981 for her first album ''Suzy'' on independent record label Old Shack Recording. * Co-writer Carlene Carter recorded the song for her 1990 album '' I Fell in Love''. The song also appears on Carter's compilation album ''Hindsight 20/20''. * Country artist

Terri Clark Terri Lynn Sauson, known professionally as Terri Clark, born August 5, 1968, is a Canadian country music singer who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that ...

covered the song for her 2000 album ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

''. * Country artist

covered the song for her 2007 album ''

''.

Charts

References

{{Emmylou Harris singles 1978 songs 1978 singles Emmylou Harris songs Songs written by Carlene Carter Song recordings produced by Brian Ahern (producer) Warner Records singles