Six More Miles (To the Graveyard) is a song written by

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

for

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

. It appeared as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to " I Saw the Light" in 1948.

Background

"Six More Miles (To the Graveyard)" was one of the earliest songs Hank Williams published as a songwriter; it was one of several compositions that appeared in his self-published song folios in 1945 and 1946. The original version contained a verse not heard in Hank's version: "Left her in that lonely church yard, left my darlin' alone/Now I'm sad, my heart is cryin', as I wander through life alone." Although Williams recorded the song in April 1947, it did not surface until it appeared as the B-side to "I Saw the Light" in September 1948. While the A-side celebrated the joys of salvation, the B-side was its opposite in just about every respect, describing the despairing thoughts of a man who is making his way to the graveyard to bury his deceased lover. Despite the song's dark subject matter, it did share "I Saw the Light's" swift tempo and is also a prime example of how Williams and producer Fred Rose used the slap of the guitars to create the driving percussive sound that was a trademark of honky tonk music. Williams recorded the song during his first session with MGM on April 21, 1947. The band was composed by part of Red Foley's backing, including Zeke and Zeb Turner (guitar), Brownie Raynolds (bass), Tommy Jackson (fiddle) and Smokey Lohman (steel guitar).

Cover versions

Molly O'Day Molly O'Day (born Suzanne Dobson Noonan; October 16, 1909 – October 22, 1998) was an American film actress and the younger sister of Sally O'Neil. Biography Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, she was the youngest of 11 children of Judge Tho ...

recorded the song, one of the earliest covers of a Hank Williams song. *The song appears on Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys' 1971 album ''Something Old, Something New''. *

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

covered the song multiple times, recording it for their 1986 album ''

Stars and Hank Forever ''Stars & Hank Forever'' is an album by American art rock group the Residents. Released in 1986, it is the second and last album in the American Composer series before its cancellation due to increasing difficulties in maintaining the project. T ...

'', their 1988 Snakefinger tribute album ''

Snakey Wake ''The Snakey Wake'' was a fan-club only release of music played by The Residents at the wake of their longtime friend, Snakefinger Philip Charles Lithman (17 June 1949 – 1 July 1987), who performed under the stage name Snakefinger, wa ...

'', and their 2011 album ''

Lonely Teenager ''Lonely Teenager'' is an album by American art rock band the Residents that was released in 2011. It contains a selection of songs as performed by the band during the Talking Light tour, as well as some songs that were considered for the tour bu ...

''. Už Jsme Doma performed the song with Randy Rose, a persona of The Residents' singer, on the 2020 live album ''Moravian Meeting'', recorded in 2010. *

Mike Ness Michael Daniel Ness (born April 3, 1962) is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion, which was formed in 1978. Early life Ness was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on April ...

recorded the song for his second solo album.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Authority control 1948 songs Songs written by Hank Williams Hank Williams songs Song recordings produced by Fred Rose (songwriter)