About The Song
“Always Wanting You” is a heartfelt country ballad by Merle Haggard, released in February 1975 as the second single from his Capitol Records album Keep Movin’ On. Written by Haggard, it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart for two weeks in April 1975, his 16th chart-topper, and reached No. 3 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. The 3:06 track is a poignant confession of unrequited love, widely believed to be inspired by Haggard’s feelings for Dolly Parton, with whom he toured in 1974–1975: “Always wanting you, but never having you / Makes it hard to face tomorrow ‘cause I know I’ll be wanting you again.” Haggard’s weathered baritone, rich with longing, carries the song’s ache, as Rolling Stone described: “Merle sings it like he’s bleeding.” He confirmed its personal nature in a 1986 Spin interview: “It was about Dolly, plain and simple—she was unattainable, but I couldn’t stop feeling.” The song’s emotional rawness made it a fan favorite, though Parton, married to Carl Dean, never publicly addressed it.
Recorded in late 1974 at Columbia Recording Studio in Nashville, the track was produced by Ken Nelson and Fuzzy Owen, featuring Haggard’s Strangers: Roy Nichols on lead guitar, Norman Hamlet on pedal steel, Ronnie Reno on guitar, Johnny Meeks on bass, and Biff Adam on drums, with uncredited strings and backing vocals, per Discogs. The arrangement’s gentle steel guitar and soft strings complement Haggard’s vocal restraint, as AllMusic notes: “It’s a masterclass in understated heartbreak.” The album hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 37 on the Billboard 200. The C-G-Am chord progression and “always loving you” refrain, per Chordify, gave it radio durability. A 2001 live version on I Wish I Was Santa Claus and a 2010 re-recording with Willie Nelson kept it alive, per Spotify.
Merle Haggard, born April 6, 1937, in Oildale, California, was a country legend whose Bakersfield sound—grittier than Nashville’s polish—defined the 1960s and 1970s. With 38 No. 1 country hits, he channeled his hardscrabble life, including prison time, into classics like “Okie from Muskogee.” Wikipedia highlights his 1994 Country Music Hall of Fame induction and 2010 Kennedy Center Honors. “Always Wanting You” was a live staple, performed on his 1975 tour with Parton and at a 1980 Austin City Limits set, with a YouTube clip showing his raw delivery. Covers are scarce, with only a 1976 version by The Kendalls noted, per SecondHandSongs. Reddit fans on r/country call it “Merle’s most vulnerable moment,” speculating about the Parton connection.
The song appeared in no major films but thrives on streaming platforms, with Shazam users tagging its soulful melody. No controversies surround it, though its personal nature fueled gossip, as No Depression notes: “It’s Merle baring his heart, no apologies.” Haggard, who died April 6, 2016, left a legacy of unflinching honesty, and “Always Wanting You” remains a piercing testament to love’s unattainable pull.
Video
Lyric
Always wanting you, but never having you
Makes it hard to face tomorrow
‘Cause I know I’ll wake up wanting you again
Always loving you, but never touching you
Sometimes hurts me almost more than I can stand
I’d been better off if I’d turned away
And never looked at you the second time
‘Cause I really had my life all together till your eyes met mine
And there I say a yearning and a feeling ‘cross the room
That you felt for me
Wish I’d had a way of knowing that the things we had in mind
Could never be
Always wanting you, but never having you
Makes it hard to face tomorrow
‘Cause I know I’ll wake up wanting you again
Always loving you, but never touching you
Sometimes hurts me almost more than I can stand
Always loving you, but never touching you
Sometimes hurts me almost more than I can stand
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