Hank Williams - I Saw the Light
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"I Saw the Light" written by Hank Williams
performed by The Rosinators
Paul Castle, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, vocals;
Fliss Premru, fiddle, vocals; Will Sneyd, fiddle, vocals
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Lyrics/Song history research on other recordings by The Rosinators
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Looking for the Stone (aka Daniel Saw The Stone)
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"I Saw the Light ...One of the real highlights of the album"
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driven by crackin' guitar picking."
[Acoustic Music Centre - Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Aug 2005]
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Lyrics
"I Saw the Light" by Hank Williams
1. I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin
I wouldn't let my Dear Saviour in
Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night
Praise the Lord I saw the light
Chorus -
I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I'm so happy, no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord, I saw the light
2. Just like a blind man I wandered along
Worries and fears I claimed for my own
Then like the blind man that God gave back his sight
Praise the Lord - I saw the light
Chorus -
I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I'm so happy, no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord, I saw the light
3. I was a fool to wander and stray
Straight is the gate and narrow the way
Now I have traded the wrong for the right
Praise the Lord, I saw the light
Chorus -
I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I'm so happy, no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
(Recorded in 1947; first release on single MGM 10271 in September 1948)
COUNTRY MUSIC LYRICS - links to Bluegrass,
Cajun, Country Blues and Gospel Country song lyrics
Song History
Roy Acuff, The Carter Family and Hank Williams singing
'I Saw The Light' on The Kate Smith Evening Hour TV Show
March 26, 1952
The Smithsonian Magazine (January 2003) - Honky-Tonk Poet
Extract from a tribute to Hank Williams by Geoff Boucher
"Hank Williams' music was the sound of Saturday night staggering
into Sunday morning, a lonesome shuffle between the roadhouse
bar stool and the church pew. He learned how to perform for a
crowd and drink by himself in the "blood buckets" - rough Alabama
honky-tonks - but the Bible he loved as a boy is where he got his
rhythms. On the radio shows that would make him famous, in fact,
Williams always performed at least one hymn, and the spirituals he
wrote, such as the mesmerizing "I Saw the Light," are often
overlooked. [read the full tribute here]
Extract from the sing365.com Hank Williams biography
"When Hank was in tenth grade, he dropped out of school to
write and play music full time. He put together a band called
"The Drifting Cowboys" and played country music with a touch
of the blues mixed in. Lily was the manager of the band and
would drive them to concerts in south Alabama. Hank signed
on with Montgomery's local radio station, WSFA, in hopes to
gain popularity, when he was only nineteen. One night on the
way home from a concert, Hank was looking for a landmark
that would let him know they were close to home and he saw
the radio tower that was in Montgomery and began writing the
hit song "I Saw the Light". This song seems to simply be based
on Hank finding a landmark that would tell him he is close to
home."
Alabama Public Radio
Extract from Hank Williams 50th Anniversary (aired 1/1/03)
Dr. Guy Bailey grew up in Montgomery’s working-class
Chisholm neighborhood, at a time when Hank Williams was
becoming the best known of a score of Montgomery’s country
musicians. Hank and his band had a reputation for living the
rowdy life they sang about.
Hank Williams, like many of his listeners, had come to town
from a poor rural setting. He was born Hiram Williams on
Sept 17, 1923 in the lumbering community of Mt Olive West,
Alabama. Times were hard and became worse with the onset
of the Depression and his father’s admission to a VA Hospital.
His mother, Lillie, moved Hank and his sister Irene into
Georgiana. There, Hank came under the influence of Rufus
Payne, a black guitarist known as Tee-Tot, who played on the
streets. In 1951, Hank told the Montgomery Advertiser that
Rufus Payne had given him “all the music training I ever had…”
Sacred music was also an important influence—though as Guy
Bailey notes, Hank’s song “I Saw the Light” may have been
written about the lights at Montgomery’s airport.
Extract from the CMT.com column - Nashville Skyline
"I Saw the Light" -- A Country Music Beacon?
The Saga of One Classic Country Song
by Chet Flippo
[see full article here]
"Country gospel is genuine currency of the realm, a timeless
message that transfers seamlessly from generation to generation.
Williams himself, who was the original country star who set the
pattern for sinning on Saturday night and seeking redemption on
Sunday morning, seemingly looked into the face of eternity with
the lyrics of "I Saw the Light."
He wrote it in 1948: I wandered so aimless, my life filled with sin/
I wouldn't let my dear savior in/Then Jesus came like a stranger in
the night/Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
The melody, ironically, is identical to that of the Chuck Wagon
Gang's 1935 country gospel song "He Set Me Free." Melodies
back then -- like now -- were fluid vehicles to be liberally
borrowed from. Williams -- who granted virtually no interviews
in his life -- never talked about the circumstances of writing that
song. But his mother, Lillian, after his death, said the idea
stemmed from an evening early in his career. She explained,
"We was drivin' back from doin' a show in Georgiana [Alabama],
and I was drivin' and Hank had his head in my lap, and he said,
'Oh, Mamma, I'm tired, so tired, but I know we're almost home
because I saw the light.'" The light he mentioned was from the
beacon at the airport.
Toward the end of his life, Williams was so drunk or drugged
one night in San Diego that he stumbled off stage after finishing
only two songs in the first show of a two-show evening gig.
Minnie Pearl and the show promoter's wife drove him around
town to try to sober him up enough to do the second show. They
tried to get him to sing along with them to revive him. He sang
only one verse of "I Saw the Light" before stopping. "Minnie,"
Williams said, "I don't see no light. There ain't no light."
After Williams died on his way to a Dec. 31, 1952, concert in
Charleston, W.Va., and a New Years' Day show on Jan. 1, 1953,
in Canton, Ohio, his Drifting Cowboys band went ahead and did
the show at the Canton Memorial Auditorium. To open the show,
a spotlight was shone on the curtain after the crowd was told that
Hank Williams had died. His band, assembled unseen behind the
curtain, sang "I Saw the Light."
Hank's funeral was held on Jan. 4 at Montgomery's Municipal
Auditorium, where the crowd was so great that loudspeakers had
to be set up outside for the overflow crowd out on the street.
More than 20,000 people attended. In the service, Roy Acuff
sang "I Saw the Light" over Hank's body lying in its casket. He
was joined by Bill Monroe, Little Jimmie Dickens, Carl Smith,
Red Foley, Eddie Hill, Lew Childre and Webb Pierce. Dickens
began weeping and was inconsolable. "I Saw the Light" was
Hank Williams' ultimate show-closer.
You can go and gaze today upon Williams' huge tombstone in
the Oakwood Cemetery Annex in Montgomery, Ala. Carved
across the front of that big white marble monolith are a giant
sunbeam bursting through clouds and the words "Praise the Lord,
I Saw the Light."
© Chet Flippo, Editorial Director, CMT/CMT.com
Links
Turn Back the Years: The Essential Hank Williams Collection
(Lost Highway Records) - three-CD box set released October 11, 2005
Listen to sound samples
Categorized into three CDs - Drinkin,' lovin' and prayin'. Featuring 60 original
recordings, newly digitally remastered-there are 20 songs on each CD titled
"Honky-Tonkin'," "Cold, Cold Heart" and "I Saw The Light".
TURN BACK THE YEARS illuminates the forces that shaped and ruled the
short and troubled life of a man whose songs are part of Americana and continue
to be reinterpreted by artists of nearly every genre.
Co-produced and annotated by Grammy winning country music authority
Colin Escott, TURN BACK THE YEARS is marked by a 24-page deluxe
booklet including an essay and rare photos. Spanning Williams' entire
recording career of 1946-1952, the set shines a focused light on one of the most
important figures in the history of American music. By the time Williams was
declared dead on New Year's Day 1953, he had redefined country music and
laid the foundation for rock 'n' roll. He was 29 years old and had recorded just
88 songs under his own name. But half of them were hits and he was as big a
star as anyone who had ever stepped on a stage.
The "Honky Tonkin'" CD illustrates Hank's rooting in black music and his
affinity for what would be called "rock 'n' roll attitude." In fact, Move It On Over,
his first hit, had a blues melody that later became Rock Around The Clock. He
epitomized blunt honesty (I'm A Long Gone Daddy), carnal desire (Hey, Good
Lookin,' Howlin' At The Moon, Rootie Tootie, Settin' The Woods On Fire)
and rowdiness (There's A Tear In My Beer, Too Many Parties And Too Many
Pals). The latter was issued under his Luke The Drifter guise, as was I've Been
Down That Road Before and Ramblin' Man. Heard too are Honky Tonkin',
Wearin' Out Your Walkin' Shoes, Rockin' Chair Money, Lost Highway, (I Heard
That) Lonesome Whistle, Honky Tonk Blues and more.
The "Cold, Cold Heart" CD contains the classic Lovesick Blues which was a
huge hit in 1949. Today, two other songs are perhaps more popular--Your
Cheatin' Heart and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. Other gems include the CD's
title track Cold, Cold Heart, Please Make Up Your Mind, A Mansion On The Hill,
My Love For You (Has Turned To Hate), You Win Again and Ernest Tubb's I'm
Free At Last, First Year Blues and Wedding Bells.
The "I Saw The Light" CD boasts a few of his earliest recordings--Calling You,
Wealth Won't Save Your Soul and I Saw The Light, among the most popular of
latter-day hymns. Hank's gospel streak yielded The Pale Horse And His Rider,
I'll Have A New Body (I'll Have A New Life), Where The Soul Of Man Never
Dies, When God Dips His Love In My Heart, Neath A Cold Gray Tomb of
Stone, Alone and Forsaken, House Of Gold, Angel Of Death and other songs.
Official Hank Williams Web Site
http://www.hankwilliams.com
The Official Hank Williams Museum
118 Commerce Street Montgomery, AL 36104
http://www.xaust.com/hank/homepage.htm
Hank Williams Song Lyrics
sing365.com
Cowpie Song Lyrics
Hank Williams Books
@
1. Hank Williams : The Biography -- by Colin Escott, et al;
Paperback - Buy new: $15.95 -- Used & new from: $7.29
2. Hank Williams Complete -- by Hank Williams;
Paperback - Buy new: $13.57 -- Used & new from: $11.18
3. Hank Williams: Snapshots from the Lost Highway -- by Colin Escott, Kira Florita;
Paperback - Buy new: $14.00 -- Used & new from: $6.85
4. Sing a Sad Song: The Life of Hank Williams - by Roger M., Williams;
Paperback - Buy new: $14.67 -- Used & new from: $5.95
5. The Hank Williams Songbook -- by Hank Williams, Fred Sokolow;
Paperback (Rate it) Buy new: $10.17 -- Used & new from: $9.45
6. Your Cheating Heart: A Biography of Hank Williams -- by Chet Flippo;
Paperback (Rate it) Buy new: $16.84
7. Hank Williams, So Lonesome -- by George William Koon, Bill Koon;
Paperback (Rate it) Buy new: $12.24 -- Used & new from: $7.99
- or search 'books' & Hank Williams @
Hank Williams Quotes
"If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing."
more quotes here
Note: If you have any comments about this page or can suggest additional
links or stories to add to this research, please write to Paul Castle
Tell a friend about this page
Lyrics/Song history research on other recordings by The Rosinators
Old Joe Clark
Orange Blossom Special
One Kind Favour
In My Time of Dyin'
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Cindy's Breakdown (aka Get Along Home Cindy)
Joli Blon (aka Jolie Blonde)
Little Sadie
Looking for the Stone (aka Daniel Saw The Stone)
Poncho's Lament (Tom Waits)
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