"Why Should We Try Anymore" 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 ...

and released as a single on

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 ...

in 1950.

Background

"Why Should We Try Anymore" was a wintry variation on Williams' previous single " Why Don't You Love Me," and its four verses, based loosely on "I'm Not Coming Home Any More," limned a bleak picture of a marriage gone sour." As was often the case with Hank's singles, the pessimistic ballad did not fare as well on the singles chart as his up-tempo singles, peaking at #9. In fact, the B-side, a cover of

Leon Payne Leon Roger Payne (June 15, 1917 – September 11, 1969), "the Blind Balladeer", was an American country music singer and songwriter. Life He was born in Alba, Texas, United States. He was blind in one eye at birth, and lost the sight in the othe ...

's "

They'll Never Take Her Love from Me "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me" is a country song popularized by Hank Williams in 1950. In 1961, Johnny Horton also had a hit with the song, and many others have covered it. The song was first recorded by singer-songwriter Leon Payne in 1 ...

," outperformed the A-side, rising to #5. The A-side was recorded in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

at Castle Studio with Fred Rose producing on January 9, 1950 and featured

Jerry Rivers Jerry Rivers (August 25, 1928 – October 4, 1996) was an American fiddle player. Biography Jerry Rivers was born in Miami, Florida. He played fiddle with the Drifting Cowboys, a band who will be forever associated with their "frontman", the leg ...

(fiddle),

Don Helms Donald "Don" Hugh Helms (February 28, 1927 – August 11, 2008) was a steel guitarist best known as the steel guitar player of Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys group. He was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1984). Biography Helms was ...

(steel guitar), Bob McNett (lead guitar),

Jack Shook Jack Shook (born Loren Shook; September 11, 1910 – September 23, 1986) was an American guitarist and a Grand Ole Opry star. He was a native of Decatur, Illinois. He was raised in Kansas and Missouri. He started at WSM, Nashville as a staff musi ...

(rhythm guitar), and Ernie Newton (bass).

Cover versions

Ferlin Husky Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes. He had two dozen top-20 hit ...

cut a version of the song. *

Hank Williams, Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

and

Lois Johnson Lois Johnson Scoggins (May 15, 1942 – July 7, 2014) professionally known as Lois Johnson was an American country music singer. She was from Maynardville, Tennessee. She recorded for different labels between 1969 and 1978, charted twenty singl ...

recorded the song as a duet. *

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

recorded the tune for his 1992 Williams tribute LP. *The song appears on the 1995

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 ...

box set ''A Classic and Unreleased Collection''.

References

{{Reflist 1950 songs Hank Williams songs Songs written by Hank Williams Song recordings produced by Fred Rose (songwriter) MGM Records singles Breakup songs Songs about divorce