"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" is a

Western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

written by

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born in Rosewood, Kentucky, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of Ameri ...

and

Tex Williams Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held th ...

, for Williams and his

talking blues Talking blues is a music genre derived from folk and country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict. Chris Bouchillon, billed as "The Talking Comedian of the South", is cre ...

style of singing. Travis wrote the bulk of the song. The original Williams version went to number one for 16 non-consecutive weeks on the

Hot Country Songs 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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart and became a #1 hit in August 1947 and remained at the top of the "Best Sellers in Stores" chart for six weeks. It was written in 1947 and recorded on March 27, 1947, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.

Synopsis

The song is written in the

style in the mid 1940s. Its narrator expresses disdain for the inventor of the cigarette, not so much for its health concerns (as he says he is a smoker himself and it hasn't killed him yet) but because of its addictive effect on smokers. He goes on to describe two situations, a tense poker game and a date with a beautiful woman; each situation is interrupted at a crucial point when one of the participants stops to have a cigarette. Williams sarcastically quips that when the smoker eventually dies from the effects of the addiction, they will tell

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

that they need one more smoke before going through the golden gate.

Personnel

"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" was produced by

Lee Gillette Leland James Gillette (October 30, 1912 – August 20, 1981), known professionally as Lee Gillette, was an American A&R director, record producer and musician. Biography Born in Indianapolis, Gillette was raised in Peoria, Illinois, and the ...

, and featured Johnny Weis, electric lead guitar; Eugene "Smokey" Rogers, acoustic rhythm guitar, harmony vocal; Earl "Joaquin" Murphey, steel guitar; Manny Klein, trumpet; Paul "Spike" Featherstone, harp; Andrew "Cactus" Soldi, Harry Sims, Rex Call, fiddles; Ossie Godson, piano; Deuce Spriggens, bass fiddle, harmony vocal; Milton "Muddy" Berry, drums; and Larry "Pedro" DePaul, accordion.

Cover versions

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

performed by

Phil Harris Wonga Philip Harris (June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American actor, bandleader, entertainer and singer. He was an orchestra leader and a pioneer in radio situation comedy, first with '' The Jack Benny Program'', then in '' The Phil ...

stayed on the charts for 4 weeks, reaching #8 on the "Best Sellers in Stores" chart. Williams made a stereophonic re-recording of the song for Capitol in 1960 on the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!''. It has also been covered by Johnny Bond & His Red River Valley Boys in 1947, and by

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

, who hit # 89 on the Country Charts in 1982,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

Dennis Weaver Billy Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most ...

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their The Monkees (TV series), TV series of the same name (1966–1968) ...

, Hank Thompson,

Jimmy Dean Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean (brand), Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV comm ...

, Commander Cody (

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 advertis ...

#94 in 1973),

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American country music, Western swing music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, released over 20 albums, and has charted more t ...

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His ...

and others.

Thom Bresh Thomas Charles Bresh (February 23, 1948 – May 23, 2022), sometimes spelled Tom Bresh, was an American country music guitarist and singer. Active from the 1970s, Bresh charted multiple singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. Bio ...

, the son of the song's writer Merle Travis, hit #78 on the Country Charts with the song in 1978. In France,

Eddy Mitchell Claude Moine (; born 3 July 1942), known professionally as Eddy Mitchell, is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires (The Black Socks). He took the name ''Eddy'' from the American ...

also recorded a French version of the song, on his album Rocking in Nashville (1974) :

Fume cette cigarette Fume or fumes may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Fifi La Fume, a purple skunks teen character from the animated television series ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' * "Fumes", a song on the album ''None Shall Pass'' by Aesop Rock Science and technology ...

. Finnish band Hullujussi covered the song in 1975, "Polta tupakkaa!"

In popular culture

This song is used as the title song of the 2005 movie '' Thank You for Smoking''. This song is featured in the second episode of the first season of

My Name is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia (producer), Greg Garcia for NBC. It aired for four seasons from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, with a total of List of My Name Is Earl episodes, 96 episodes. It wa ...

, "Quitting Smoking." This song makes an appearance in the videogame L.A. Noire as one of the songs played by the in-game radio KTI.

References

{{Authority control Western swing songs Novelty songs Tex Williams songs Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles of the year Thom Bresh songs Songs written by Merle Travis Number-one singles in the United States 1947 songs 1947 singles 1973 singles Songs about tobacco Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen songs