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

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

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, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

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 form of folk music and country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict. Christopher Allen Bouchillon, billed as "The Talking Comedian of the South", is cr ...

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 from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

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. 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 "nicotine slaves". He goes on to describe two situations, a tense poker game and a date with a beautiful woman; both are interrupted because of one of them has a nicotine craving and needs a cigarette. Williams sarcastically quips that when the smoker eventually dies from the effects of the addiction, they will tell

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

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 t ...

, 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, comedian, musician and songwriter. He was an orchestra leader and a pioneer in radio situation comedy, first with ''The Jack Benny Program'', then in ''The Phil Harri ...

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 A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

in 1960 on the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''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, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

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

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Dennis Weaver William Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and former 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. Weave ...

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

, 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 sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV commercials. He became ...

, 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 advertise ...

#94 in 1973),

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty 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. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

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. Bi ...

, 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. 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 ''Thank You for Smoking'' is a 2005 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Jason Reitman and starring Aaron Eckhart, based on the 1994 satirical novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley. It follows the efforts of Big ...

''. 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 that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Jaso ...

, "Quitting Smoking."

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