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Take These Chains from My Heart

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"Take These Chains from My Heart"
Song
A-side"Ramblin' Man"
"Take These Chains from My Heart"
Song
B-side"Straight Shooter"

"Take These Chains from My Heart" is a song by Hank Williams. It was written by Fred Rose and Hy Heath and was recorded at Williams' final recording session on September 23, 1952 in Nashville. The song has been widely praised; Williams' biographer Colin Escott deems it "perhaps the best song [Rose] ever presented to Hank...It was one of the very few songs that sounded somewhat similar to a Hank Williams song."[1] Williams is backed by Tommy Jackson (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Chet Atkins (lead guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), and Floyd "Lightnin'" Chance (bass).[2] In the wake of William's passing on New Year's Day, 1953, the song shot to #1, his final chart topping hit for MGM Records. Like "Your Cheatin' Heart," the song's theme of despair, so vividly articulated by Williams' typically impassioned singing, reinforced the image of Hank as a tortured, mythic figure.

Cover versions

Chart performance

Lee Roy Parnell

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[4] 21
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] 17

References

  1. ^ Escott, Colin & 2004 237.
  2. ^ Escott, Colin & 2004 347.
  3. ^ Whitburn, p. 315
  4. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2562." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. August 15, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  5. ^ "Lee Roy Parnell Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
Preceded by Country & Western National Best Sellers
number one single

June 6, 1953
Succeeded by