Awful pretty song
I think one of the prettiest things that I ever had the pleasure of comin' up with
I'm So Lonesome, I Could Cry
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
I'm so lonesome, I could cry
I've never seen a night so long
And time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind the clouds
To hide its face and cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
Like me, he's lost the will to live
I'm so lonesome, I could cry
The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome, I could cry
That's a good one
It's a lonesome song, ain't it?
Ain't that lonesome, woo
Now you can't get any much lonesome right, can you?
Want to whip a will so lonesome it can't fly
He done got lonesome, man
He needs some company, bad
Brothers of the Heart - I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (Live At Columbia, TN/2020)
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry Song Meaning, Biblical Reference and Inspiration
The song "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," as performed by Fortune, Walker, Rogers, and Isaacs, known collectively as Brothers of the Heart, in a live setting in 2020, stands as a powerful exploration of profound human isolation and sorrow. The performance captures the raw, aching emotion inherent in the lyrics, which are introduced as being born from a deeply felt place. The song immediately establishes its mood through evocative imagery drawn from the natural world and everyday life, painting a vivid picture of overwhelming loneliness.
The lyrics delve into a state of being where the sense of isolation is so intense it affects the perception of everything around. The "lonesome whippoorwill" is heard as being "too blue to fly," projecting the speaker's own inability to rise above their sorrow onto nature. The sound of the "midnight train whining low" reinforces the feeling of distance and melancholy. This deep lonesomeness is so consuming that it distorts the passage of time, making a "night so long" where "time goes crawling by." Even the moon is depicted as sharing in this grief, hiding its face and crying as it goes behind the clouds.
Further intensifying the theme, the song asks if one has ever witnessed a "robin weep" as "leaves begin to die," drawing a parallel between the changing seasons, perceived sadness in nature, and the speaker's own state. This comparison culminates in the stark declaration that, like the robin, the speaker has "lost the will to live," underscoring the depth of despair the lonesomeness has wrought. The imagery shifts to the vastness of the cosmos with "the silence of a falling star" lighting a "purple sky," highlighting the speaker's solitary state as they wonder about the absence of the one who is missed, reinforcing the feeling of being utterly alone in the universe. The concluding spoken words emphasize the song's nature as purely an expression of lonesomeness, so deep it affects even the imagined actions of a bird.
While the song itself focuses on the raw, unvarnished experience of sorrow and lonesomeness without explicit religious context, the depth of human suffering and isolation it portrays resonates with themes found throughout scripture. The Psalms, for instance, are filled with expressions of lament and feeling utterly alone, crying out from deep valleys of despair, much like the intense emotion captured here (e.g., Psalm 6 or Psalm 102 which speaks of groaning and feeling like a lonely bird). The Bible acknowledges the reality of suffering and loss, and while this song presents the ache without a solution, scripture often provides a perspective of hope or the promise of divine presence even in the darkest times, offering comfort to those who feel lost and without hope (e.g., Isaiah 41:10, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"). The shared human experience of sorrow, so powerfully depicted in the song, is a common thread that faith can address with messages of enduring love, community, and ultimate redemption, offering an inspirational counterpoint to the depths of isolation.
