Dwight Yoakam – Ain’t That Lonely Yet

I was forced to listen to country music at work around this time…but this one and other songs off of the album Time I really liked. It crossed over to pop/rock stations also. I always liked bitter breakup songs like this one.

It peaked at #2 in the Hot Country Songs Chart in 1993… It also peaked at #2 on the “US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles” Charts (way too many charts) and #3 on the Canada Country Tracks.

The song was written by James House and Kostas Lazarides.

 

From Songfacts

This tale of a girl trying in vain to win back her ex was written by Greek-born songwriter, Kostas (Patti Loveless’ “I Can Love You Better”) and country artist James House (Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing”).

House told American Songwriter the story of the song.

“We had already been working on another song idea for a couple of hours but it had gotten stale so we decided to take a break,” he said. “We started talking and Kostas asked me if I was going to get back together with my estranged girlfriend and I said, ‘I ain’t that lonely yet,’ and we looked at each other and said, ‘let’s write that’.”

“I grabbed my guitar and started singing the verse melody and Kostas was furiously writing lyrics,” House continued. “After 10 or 15 minutes he sang the first verse to the melody I was playing. The chorus fell out of him as we were jamming it out. I knew it was a special song when Kostas looked up with a smile and sang the lyric about the spider in my bed. You know you’re onto something when the lyrics are coming as fast as you can write them, I think there were four or five more verses that we didn’t use.”

The song was recorded by Dwight Yoakam and released as the lead-off single to his This Time album. 

“Kostas was writing with Dwight a couple of weeks later and played him the cassette work demo we did,” House recalled. “If I remember right it was recorded fairly soon and released within a couple of months.”

The song earned Yoakam his first Grammy award, which he won for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

Ain’t That Lonely Yet

You keep calling me on the telephone
You say you’re all alone
Well that’s real sad

And you keep leavin’
Notes stuck on my door
Guess you’re hungry for some more
Girl that’s too bad

‘Cause I ain’t that lonely yet
No I ain’t that lonely yet
After what you put me through
I ain’t that lonely yet

Once there was this spider in my bed
I got caught up in her web
Of love and lies

She spun her chains around my heart and soul
Never to let go
Oh but I survived

‘Cause I ain’t that lonely yet
No I ain’t that lonely yet
After what you put me through
I ain’t that lonely yet

There’s nothing left that you can do
To try and bring me ’round
‘Cause everything you do
Just brings me down

‘Cause I ain’t that lonely yet
No I ain’t that lonely yet
After what you put me through
I ain’t that lonely yet

‘Cause I ain’t that lonely yet
No I ain’t that lonely yet
After what you put me through
No I ain’t that lonely yet

‘Cause I ain’t that lonely yet
No I ain’t that lonely yet
After what you put me through
No I ain’t that lonely yet
‘Cause I ain’t that lonely yet
No I ain’t that lonely yet

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

56 thoughts on “Dwight Yoakam – Ain’t That Lonely Yet”

  2. I love Dwight Yokam. I’ve actually seen him in concert–one of only three country artist I’ve seen live. Well, I take that back. One of only three country artist I’ve PAID to see live. Saw more than I cared to when my husband worked in radio. To me, Yokam is very Bakersfield sound with Roy Orbison and Marty Robbins influences in the mix. He is also steeped Rockabilly and his original guitarist Pete Anderson is AMAZING!

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    1. I’ve always liked him…I like the Bakersfield sound much better than the typical Nashville sound. Him I would pay to go see and you wouldn’t hear me say that about many country artists.

      One funny thing…I always wished that Tom Petty and Dwight would have appeared just once together…I do double takes at some pictures early in their career.

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      2. It really would have been. I could see Tom writing Ain’t That Lonely Yet and a Thousand Miles from Nowhere.

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    2. Didn’t know of Pete anderson’s connection to Dwight… Anderson also produced Blue Rodeo’s third album, ‘Casino’ which likewise is a great kind of country-rock mix.

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      2. I don’t like mainstream country today….this song reminds me of a country Tom Petty… plus I like the jilted lover songs lol… I do like alt country.

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      4. Yes it makes since… he was from Florida…about as far south as you can get.

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  6. Dwight has had a lot of good songs, both originals and covers. I’ve got 3 of his CDs: this one, Just Lookin for a Hit, and Guitars, Cadillacs. The only one that’s gotten much play time is Guitars, Cadillacs. Dwight and Tom do look strikingly similar (at least they did.)

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    1. They did look alike and would have been cool doing something combined.
      The one I heard the most was Time… I like his music though…. he disappeared since 2000

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      2. Since I’ve heard much from him yea…Now thats me but have you heard much?
        Wiki said something about him losing his radio audience for some reason. The album Time went triple platnium in 93….I dont’ know what happened.

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      3. I thought he had done some acting since then but not on the music front. Hold on let me check… yes, he’s been doing a lot of movies and TV. The last thing I saw him in was Logan Lucky, which is a 2017 movie that’s really good. He plays a prison warden in it.

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      9. Actually, Carl (Billy Bob Thornton) killed him (Yoakam/Doyle) with a sharpened lawnmower blade. The slingblade was what Carl used to kill his mother & her lover. Robert Duvall played Carl’s messed up father. I loved John Ritter as the gay guy. Hard to believe Lucas Black is on NCIS: New Orleans, now.

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      10. I need to re-watch Sling Blade, it’s been awhile. Was that John Ritter at the door with him in that clip? I didn’t recognize him, but the screen is so small.

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      13. Yes you are right…I gotta watch it again. I don’t remember Robert Duvall in it…I think that man has been in every movie since the 70s

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      15. He was in a Twilight Zone episode…he goes back…my least favorite episode but still…

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      17. It was an hour-long episode…the one about the doll house in the museum.
        My very least favorite…he was good of course but the story was plain…especially for the Twilight Zone.

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      20. Yes that is right Vic. It’s been about 5 years since I saw it…love that movie.

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      24. Dang….Billy Wilder once told Billy Bob Thornton that he was “too ugly” to be an actor…that is just cold…
        Also he “killed” Dwight in two movies.

        Gotta watch this movie again soon.

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      2. Dave, I take that back, I just looked the song up and Dwight wrote it! I think I was thinking of “Honky Tonk Man” which was on the radio when I was a kid. Didn’t know Guitars, Cadillacs album was Dwight’s debut album either.

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    1. He didn’t write it but it was rumored at the time it was about Sharon Stone cause that is who he was going with… but he didn’t write it..

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      2. Yea they said some stuff about each other in the press at the time…thats why everyone thought this song was about her but it wasn’t…
        I love these kinds of songs… like Bob Dylan’s Positively 4th Street…

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  9. I’m behind on your posts …

    This is a great track! One of his top 3 songs, in my opinion. Great feel, great vocal, and great lyric. One of his best albums.

    I was actually listening to the iPod today and heard another Dwight song that I may post for Tune Tuesday – a lot more country – but a great lyric!

    Funny story: I met Dwight at one of his shows. He was one weird dude! We all met in his bus. He walked around to each of us. Shook our hand. Asked our name. Repeated our name and said, “Hi,(your name). I’m Dwight.” I was thinking, “You have been making records for years…..you have a ton of hits…..we all have tickets to your show….we know who YOU are!!” It was one of the most awkward meet and greets I have ever been though.

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    1. I’m way behind on yours also…work has limited my time. A while back I was doing 3 posts a day…of course mine are short ones. I have had to cut down to one.

      That is strange of him…lol at least I guess he got a little personal…like he had to introduce himself.

      He always reminded me of Tom Petty as far as looks.

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