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Your Cheatin' Heart

Rating:
4.4 / 5

Words & Music: Hank Williams

Your cheatin' heart will make you weep
You'll cry and cry and try to sleep
But sleep won't come the whole night through
Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

When tears come down like falling rain
You'll toss around and call my name
You're gonna walk that floor the way that I do
Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

When tears come down like falling rain
You'll toss around and call my name
You're gonna walk that floor just the way that I do
Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

Your cheatin' heart will tell on you
Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

Recordingdate: 1958/02/01, first released on: Elvis for Everyone (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Your Cheatin' Heart:

(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)

Availability

Find available albums with Your Cheatin' Heart.

OtisBlue22 wrote on May 12, 2008
Not as good as the original but I'm certainly happy it exists. To be honest, I only heard it for the first time just recently so I'm not that well acquainted with it, yet. It's good though that there are still plenty of songs that I haven't heard, will be fresh in my memory, will grow on me and I will listen to for the first time with a pair of adult ears (as opposed to having heard songs so many times in my formative years that I know them inside out). I think it's still Scotty who's playing lead and that, along with The Jordanaires' stamp of authenticity as well as Elvis' natural swagger, make for a truly Presley-fied recording. Since it took 7 years to come out, I assume Elvis wasn't satisfied with his homage to Hank.
JerryNodak wrote on September 07, 2008
I don't think Elvis does a great job on this song, but it's certainly competent and professional. I'm glad he cut the song. He gives it that "Elvis touch," and I enjoy his version.
FLASHBOY wrote on September 07, 2008
I never liked Hank williams cause When he sings he sound like he is crying so for me The Elvis version of the song is a trillion times better. Elvis does not have the original so what? i don't give a ...... about it!
old shep wrote on September 07, 2008
The Elvis for Everyone had an eclectic mixture of oddities among the titles. This Hank Williams classic was an even stranger choice to make up an album.I like Elvis' version it is gutsy and completely off the wall.A real pity that it didn't get an earlier outing perhaps on the A Date With Elvis.
Steve V wrote on September 07, 2008
I like it, but then again I think Elvis' 1958 Nashville sessions were among the best of his career. I wish he'd have cut a whole LP of Hank Williams songs. I bet he would have had some of the definitive versions of Hank's classic songs.
JLpResLey wrote on September 07, 2008
No thanks. Certainly not among his best ones. I heard that Elvis was close to get the part in the movie "Your Cheatin´ Heart", during the sixties. I think it was Williams´ family that stopped it. Would have been interesting, right?
Deke Rivers 6 wrote on November 18, 2008
Always enjoyed this track, better than the original. Like "He'll have To Go" by Elvis, Elvis' version is far better than Jim Reeves
Natha wrote on November 18, 2008
Love this song. It was on the first LP I could buy, so it bears an extra dimension for me. Great song. Yes to my ears and mind better, in any case quite different from the other versions.
sitdown68 wrote on June 30, 2009
your cheatin' heart...I couldn't sleep last night...unaware of this here I strummed it last night or early morning hours on my old guitar...;-) yeah, Elvis as singing Hank Williams...I would have loved to hear him on Mind Your Own Business...my personal favourite of ole Hank
Pedro Nuno wrote on June 30, 2009
A nice rendition of this country classic, but nothing more than that.
NONE000000 wrote on June 30, 2009
I like this version. Certainly becomes more of a pop song than a country song the way Elvis does it. It's a shame it was never done live; in 1970 or 71 he probably really could have blown this away. It's easy to imagine him doing it too, on stage alongside "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Release Me". Similar vibe.
Gorse wrote on January 09, 2013
A song from the magnificent 1958 sessions that spawned so many great hits. This is one of the lesser lights from those sessions but is still a great medium tempo rocker, although I have a slight preference for the wilder alternate take 9.
ElvisSacramento wrote on June 04, 2013
This is such a marvelous song and Elvis' rendition of it was magnificent. I've never skipped it. The renditions of this classic gem by Hank Williams and Ray Charles were magnificent too.
cookingfat wrote on June 04, 2013
I like Elvis' version, possibly because it's unlike any of the other versions I've heard including the original. Even though Elvis for Everyone contained a mixture of left overs I still like to listen to it.
Deano1 wrote on June 04, 2013
I loved when Elvis took a song and "Elvisised" it. That is what he did here. He took a song that was pure country and made it rock. The "Elvis For Everyone" LP in which it first appeared was meant to be a 10th Anniversary LP and a real opportunity was lost with the resulting LP. Not that it was bad, it just could have done so much more to capture Elvis' 10 years with RCA. This LP deserves respect just for giving a home for lost masterpieces like this song and "I Met Her Today"
alanfalk wrote on June 04, 2013
Among my favorite Elvis songs from the first time I heard it, I really like Hanks version too, but I love Elvis'.
kink56 wrote on June 04, 2013
I love it and the Elvis For Everyone album. I prefer the "take 9" version.
sugartummy wrote on July 14, 2013
Surprisingly, Elvis didn't like his version and stopped its release. I love the song. Scotty's solo is great as usual, and the song just rolls on like it's supposed to do. When you look at Spotify, it seems like about everybody recorded this one. I wish Elvis would've recorded "I saw the light", which he considered to do in 1966.
TheMemphisFan wrote on December 26, 2015
Though recorded in 1958, the eventual release in 1965 of Elvis' fine version of this song turned out to be perfectly timed (even if just coincidentally) after the movie, "Your Cheatin' Heart", was released in November of 1964. It starred George Hamilton as country singer Hank Williams. The film was made with the assistance of Williams' widow Audrey and featured timeless songs lip-synched by Hamilton but sung by Hank Williams, Jr. The film was originally released in 1964 in black-and-white, and has the distinction of being the final MGM musical film to be produced in black-and-white.
Jim Davidson wrote on December 27, 2015
It was an odd inclusion in the Welcome to My World LP; Your Cheatin' Heart was so much older than the other tracks. That said, it's a great recording.
Cruiser621 wrote on September 02, 2020
A "one off" tune which definitely harks back to the 1950's. I believe there were 2 versions released on CD. I consider it average and give it 3 stars.
bajo wrote on September 02, 2020
It was shelved for a reason I think! It's not a standout track by Elvis! Still, it is nice to have it, in two separate takes. Why it was included in the Welcome To My World album over For The Good Times is beyond me!
marty wrote on September 02, 2020
Many of Hank's songs were recorded by rockabilly artists in rocking uptempo versions e.g. Move It On Over, Long Gone Lonesome Blues, Kaw-Liga, Jambalaya etc. Elvis recorded one of Hank's ballads in a mid-tempo version which is neither rock 'n' roll nor a ballad. It doesn't work very well for me but at least it is different to most other versions of the song. Elvis and RCA probably did think too much of it either and it took 7 years to be released. Possibly his weakest recording from 1958 but still enjoyable to listen to. I wish Elvis recorded more Hank Williams originals. He only did three; Your Cheating Heart, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry & Men With Broken Hearts (only part of it).
Milky White Way wrote on December 24, 2022
Much prefer the alternative version I heard many years ago in the 80’s when RCA released the two EP collections in the UK. I’m guessing it was take 9 from other comments but it was a cracking version compared to the standard release (which I’m not totally fond of).
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