"You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)" is a song written by

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

. It was 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 September 1949 and reached #4 on the Best Selling Retail Folk Records chart.

Background

"You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)" was the fourth in a remarkable string of twenty Top 10 hits that Williams would have between 1949 and his death on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

1953. The song was a prime example of the typical Hank Williams

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

: an up-tempo,

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

number that could be danced to. In the song, the narrator accuses his wife of lying and warns her that she had better change her ways or he will make good on her empty threats to leave. Williams biographer

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born 31 August 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes ...

writes that the song was "clearly born of the dissent on Charles Street," where Hank shared an often tempestuous home life with his wife

Audrey Williams Audrey Mae Sheppard Williams (February 28, 1923 – November 4, 1975) was an American musician known for being the first wife of country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams, the mother of Hank Williams Jr., and the grandmother of Hank W ...

. He recorded the song with backing from Dale Potter (fiddle), Don Davis (steel guitar),

Zeb Turner Zeb Turner (June 23, 1915 – January 10, 1978) was an American country music songwriter and guitarist, and pioneer of rockabilly. He was born William Edward Grishaw in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States, and he renamed himself after a favori ...

(lead guitar), Clyde Baum (mandolin),

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 probably Ernie Newton (bass). It was cut at Castle Studio in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

on March 2, 1949 with Fred Rose producing.{{cite book , last=Escott , first=Colin , title=Hank Williams: The Biography , publisher=Back Bay , year=2004 , isbn=0-316-73497-7 , page=332

Cover versions

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

included the song on his 1962 LP '' My Favorites of Hank Williams''. *

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 has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of countr ...

recorded the song for his album ''The New South'' in 1977 with

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

providing guitar and background vocals. *

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

contributed a version of the song to the 2001 Williams tribute album ''Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute''. *

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

recorded the song on her 1980 bluegrass album ''

Roses in the Snow ''Roses in the Snow'' is the seventh studio album by country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1980. While Harris' previous release, 1979's '' Blue Kentucky Girl'', featured traditional, straight-ahead country (as opposed to the country- ...

'' *

The Screaming Blue Messiahs The Screaming Blue Messiahs were a rock band, formed in 1983 in London by guitarist and singer Bill Carter, bass player and backing singer Chris Thompson and drummer Kenny Harris. The group emerged in the wake of the pub rock and punk scenes th ...

recorded the song on their 1984 album ''Good and Gone''

References

1949 songs Songs written by Hank Williams Hank Williams songs Song recordings produced by Fred Rose (songwriter)