Misplaced Pages

"Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)"
Single by Toby Keith
from the album American Ride
Released	October 26, 2009
Genre	Country
Length	4:46 (album version) 3:45 (radio edit)
Label	Show Dog Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Toby Keith
Producer(s)	Toby Keith
Toby Keith singles chronology
"American Ride" (2009) "Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)" (2009) "Every Dog Has Its Day" (2010)

"Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in October 2009 as the second single from his 2009 album American Ride. The song peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Content

The song is a mid-tempo country ballad, mostly accompanied by acoustic guitar and saxophone. It was written as a tribute to basketball player and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale, who died on May 15, 2009. In it, the narrator is crying, but states he is not crying for Tisdale's death, rather crying for himself.

Keith had intended to perform the song at Tisdale's funeral, but was too emotional to complete it at the time; instead, he performed Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground."

Critical reception

The song has been generally met with positive reception. Ken Tucker of Billboard magazine said that "Dave Koz's saxophone is a perfect accompaniment to the tender and touching 'Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)'," and Entertainment Weekly writer Whitney Pastorek called it a "sweet tribute to a friend who passed away." Bobby Peacock of Roughstock called it "one of the best single releases of Toby's career" and compared its theme to Alan Jackson's "Sissy's Song," "but with a few more personal touches." Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine gave a mixed review of the song, saying that it was an example of "his genuinely empathic performances" but criticized the production by saying that the "chintzy" production had a negative effect on the song's sincerity. Sam Gazdziak of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs-down rating, highlighting some of the specifics of Tisdale's life that were highlighted in the song, but saying, "Maybe if the song were more about those personal touches and less about Keith crying for himself, it wouldn't seem as dreary."

Music video

The music video, directed by Michael Salomon, premiered on CMT on November 2, 2009.

Chart performance

"Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)" debuted at number 58 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs on the week of October 17, 2009. During that week, Keith's "American Ride" was at Number One, and two other cuts from the album debuted as well: "Every Dog Has Its Day" at number 56 and "If I Had One" at number 59.

Year-end charts

References

1. Graff, Gary (2009-06-13). "Toby Keith's American Ride in High Gear". Billboard.
2. Chancellor, Jennifer (2009-11-02). "See it: Toby Keith's tribute to sport and music legend Wayman Tisdale". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
3. Tucker, Ken (2009-10-03). "American Ride review". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
4. Pastorek, Whitney (2009-09-30). "American Ride review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
5. Peacock, Bobby (2009-11-02). "Toby Keith — "Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)"". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
6. Keefe, Jonathan. "Toby Keith: American Ride". Slant Magazine. Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
7. Gazdziak, Sam (2009-10-28). "Toby Keith — "Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)"". Engine 145. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18.
8. ""Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)" video". CMT. Archived from the original on November 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
9. Morris, Edward (2009-10-10). "Miranda Lambert's Revolution Seizes the Album Summit". CMT. Archived from the original on October 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
10. "Toby Keith Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
11. "Toby Keith Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
12. "Toby Keith Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
13. "Best of 2010: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.

• 2009 singles
• 2009 songs
• Toby Keith songs
• Songs written by Toby Keith
• Music videos directed by Michael Salomon
• Commemoration songs
• Show Dog-Universal Music singles
• Songs about basketball players