Why Don't You Love Me (Hank Williams song)

"Why Don't You Love Me" is a song by American singer and guitarist Hank Williams. The song reached number one on the U.S. Country & Western chart. It was released as a single in 1950 with the B-side, "A House Without Love".

Background

Like his previous hits "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)" and "I Just Don't Like This Kind of Living", "Why Don't You Love Me" was likely inspired by Hank's turbulent relationship with his wife Audrey Williams. However, the song is more lighthearted in nature, with the narrator admonishing himself ("I'm the same old trouble you've always been through") and became Williams' third No. 1 country hit. The tune was recorded in Nashville at Castle Studio with Fred Rose producing on January 9, 1950, and featured Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Bob McNett (lead guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), and Ernie Newton (bass). It is set in common time composed in a moderate tempo, with a main key of F major with a basic sequence of F–C7–B♭ as its chord progression.

"Why Don't You Love Me" was featured over the closing credits of the film The Last Picture Show.

Charts

Chart (1950)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1

Cover versions

Connie Smith covered "Why Don't You Love Me" for her 1975 album, I Got a Lot of Hurtin' Done Today / I've Got My Baby on My Mind, and released as a single, peaking at No. 15 on the Billboard Country chart.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers covered the song for their 1984 self-titled debut album.

References

"U.S. Copyright Office Virtual Card Catalog 1946-1954". vcc.copyright.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
"Hank Williams 45rpm Issues". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 387.
Escott, Merritt & MacEwen 2004.
^ "Why Don't You Love Me – Hank Williams Digital Sheet Music (Digital Download)". MusicNotes.com. Alfred Publishing Co. Inc.
"www.discogs.com". Discogs. 1975. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
"www.discogs.com". Discogs. 1984. Retrieved January 14, 2024.

Sources

Escott, Colin; Merritt, George; MacEwen, William (2004). Hank Williams: The Biography. New York: Little, Brown.

v t e Hank Williams
Discography Songs
Albums	Hank Williams Sings Moanin' the Blues Memorial Album Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter Hank Williams on Stage 40 Greatest Hits The Complete Hank Williams
Songs	"Move It On Over" "Honky Tonkin'" "I Saw the Light" "Lovesick Blues" "Mind Your Own Business" "Lost Highway" "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" "Why Don't You Love Me" "Cold, Cold Heart" "Hey, Good Lookin'" "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" "Honky Tonk Blues" "Half as Much" "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" "You Win Again" "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" "Kaw-Liga" "Your Cheatin' Heart" "Take These Chains from My Heart" "The Blues Come Around" "Six More Miles (To the Graveyard)" "I'm Satisfied with You" "The Pale Horse and His Rider" "Weary Blues from Waitin'" "(I'm Gonna) Sing, Sing, Sing"
Family	Hank Williams Jr. Jett Williams Hank Williams III Holly Williams
Related articles	Death of Hank Williams List of tributes to Hank Williams Drifting Cowboys Sterling Records MGM Records Grand Ole Opry The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 Rufus Payne

v t e Connie Smith singles
Albums Singles Songs
1960s	"Once a Day" "Then and Only Then"/"Tiny Blue Transistor Radio" "I Can't Remember" "If I Talk to Him" "Nobody but a Fool (Would Love You)" "Ain't Had No Lovin'" "The Hurtin's All Over" "I'll Come Runnin'" "Cincinnati, Ohio" "Burning a Hole in My Mind" "Baby's Back Again" "Run Away Little Tears" "Cry, Cry, Cry" "Ribbon of Darkness" "Young Love" (with Nat Stuckey) "You and Your Sweet Love"
1970s	"I Never Once Stopped Loving You" "Louisiana Man" "Where Is My Castle" "Just One Time" "I'm Sorry If My Love Got in Your Way" "Just for What I Am" "If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone)" "Love Is the Look You're Looking For" "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)" "Dream Painter" "Ain't Love a Good Thing" "Dallas" "I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before)" "I've Got My Baby on My Mind" "I Got a Lot of Hurtin' Done Today" "Why Don't You Love Me" "The Song We Fell in Love To" "(Till) I Kissed You" "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)" "I Don't Wanna Talk It Over Anymore" "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" "Lovin' You Baby" "Smooth Sailin'"
1980s	"A Far Cry from You"

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