"Song for the Life" is a song written by American singer

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

and originally recorded by

The Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom ...

. Crowell recorded the song in 1978 on his debut album '' Ain't Living Long Like This'', and since then, the song has been covered by several other artists. One version, recorded by

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

, was released as a single in 1995, and was a Top Ten country hit for him that year. However, it has yet to be featured on any of his compilation albums.

Recording history

The first version of "Song for the Life" was recorded by

the Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom ...

for their 1976 album '' The New Seldom Scene Album'', with John Starling singing the lead. Singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards also recorded the song for his 1976 release ''Rockin Chair'' produced by Brian Ahern. The following year

put it on his 1978 debut album '' Ain't Living Long Like This'', with backing vocals from

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 ...

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 ...

and Nicolette Larson. Crowell's version was released a single in November 1978.

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country music and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He was bes ...

covered the song on his 1977 album ''Man Must Carry On'', as did

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

on his 1978 album '' Gone Girl'',

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

on his 1980 album ''

Autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

'', Waylon Jennings on his 1982 album ''

Black on Black ''Black on Black'' is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1982 in music, 1982. Background By 1981, Jennings excessive lifestyle had caught up to him financially. Despite a string of #1 albums and ...

'',

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...

on his 1983 album '' Cold on the Shoulder'', and

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

on her 1986 album ''

Walk the Way the Wind Blows ''Walk the Way the Wind Blows'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Kathy Mattea. It was released in 1986 (see 1986 in country music) on Mercury Records. This album produced Mattea's first Top Ten country hit in "Love at th ...

''. Mattea's version of the song was 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 her 1987 single "

You're the Power "You're the Power" is a song written by Craig Bickhardt and F.C. Collins, and recorded by American country music artist Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1 ...

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

recorded the song on her debut album with Union Station in 1987, "Too Late to Cry" at the age of 16. A version was also recorded by

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

for their album

Room to Roam ''Room to Roam'' is the fifth studio album by The Waterboys; it continued the folk rock sound of 1988's '' Fisherman's Blues'', but was less of a commercial success, reaching #180 on the '' Billboard'' Top 200 after its release in September 1990 ...

in 1990, although it wasn't released until 2008 on the remastered edition of the same album. However, the Waterboys version of the song did appear on the BBC television 1991 series "Bringing it all Back Home - the influence of Irish Music" and was released on the supporting CD and DVD of the series.

recorded it for his 1994 album '' Who I Am''. His version was released in February 1995 as a single, reaching a peak of number six 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 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 ...

charts.

Critical reception

Jackson's rendition was given favorable reviews: Mario Tarradell of the ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'' called it "the quintessential Alan Jackson ballad", and Thom Jurek of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said, "in a version that rivals Crowell's own, Jackson's balladry in three-forths time is heartbreakingly beautiful." Ron Young of the ''San Antonio Express-News'' said that although it "pales next to Jerry Jeff Walker's, it's a good attempt and an excellent choice."

Chart performance

Jackson's rendition debuted at number 73 on the ''

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

) charts dated for February 11, 1995. It peaked at number 6 on the week of May 6.

Year-end charts

References

{{Alan Jackson singles 1976 songs 1978 singles 1995 singles Jerry Jeff Walker songs Rodney Crowell songs Johnny Cash songs John Denver songs Waylon Jennings songs Kathy Mattea songs Alison Krauss songs Alan Jackson songs The Waterboys songs Songs written by Rodney Crowell Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Warner Records singles Arista Nashville singles