"Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)" is a song written by David Allan Coe and recorded by American country music artist

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

. It was released in December 1973 as the first single and title track from the album '' Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)''. It topped the U.S. country chart on March 30, 1974, for one week and was Tucker's third number-one song on the chart. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song peaked at number 46. Only her 1975 number-one country hit, " Lizzie and the Rainman", performed better on the pop chart.

Background

John Lomax III John Lomax III (born August 20, 1944) is an American journalist, music distributor and manager who has worked with many country music and folk music musicians, such as Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, David Schnaufer, The Cactus Brothers, Kasey Chamb ...

stated that he was present when David Allen Coe heard the song If I Needed You by Townes Van Zandt and asked to use it. Van Zandt gave permission as long as he was credited as a writer, but instead Coe copied the subject matter and melody for "Would You Lay With Me" and did not credit Townes Van Zandt.

Chart performance

Cover versions

*David Allan Coe later recorded the song 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 his 1975 single " You Never Even Called Me by My Name." *In 1974, a version by veteran Australian singer Judy Stone reached into the top 5 of the Australia chart. It was the 32nd biggest selling single in Australia in 1974. *

Alf Robertson Alf Åke Robertson (8 June 1941 – 24 December 2008) was a Swedish country singer and composer who produced 50 albums and about 150 songs during his lifetime, and scoring album successes in Sweden. He died on 24 December 2008 after a spell of s ...

covered the song in 1978, in Swedish as "Jennifers frågor". * Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings recorded the song on their 1983 album, '' Take It to the Limit''. *In 2000,

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 ...

covered the song on his album, '' American III: Solitary Man''.

References

1974 singles Country ballads Tanya Tucker songs David Allan Coe songs Willie Nelson songs Johnny Cash songs Song recordings produced by Billy Sherrill Columbia Records singles 1973 songs Songs written by David Allan Coe Alf Robertson songs {{1970s-country-song-stub