About The Song
“Broken Lady” is a poignant country ballad written and recorded by Larry Gatlin, released in November 1975 as the lead single from his Monument Records album High Time. The 2:39 track, also the title track of the UK release Larry Gatlin with Family & Friends, became Gatlin’s second major hit, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1976 and charting for 12 weeks. It earned Gatlin a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1976, a milestone in his career. The song’s introspective lyrics—“She’s a broken lady, waiting to be mended / Like a potter would mend a broken vase”—depict a woman’s emotional devastation after a failed relationship, delivered with Gatlin’s soaring tenor and gospel-inflected harmonies. AllMusic praises its “heartfelt simplicity,” noting, “Gatlin’s voice carries the weight of a poet’s empathy.” In a 1977 Country Music interview, Gatlin said, “I wrote it about love’s fragility—something I’d seen in people close to me.” The song marked a key step in establishing Gatlin as a distinct voice in the countrypolitan era.
Recorded in 1975 at Monument’s Nashville studio, the track was produced by Fred Foster, with uncredited session players likely including members of the Nashville A-Team, such as Bob Moore (bass) and Buddy Harman (drums), per Discogs. The arrangement—gentle acoustic guitar, subtle strings, and minimal percussion—embodies the slick, pop-leaning countrypolitan style, as No Depression notes: “It’s a masterclass in understated storytelling.” The album High Time reached No. 14 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The song’s G-C-D chord progression and melodic refrain, per UltimateGuitar, ensured radio appeal. A 2004 digital remaster on 17 Greatest Hits and a 2008 Spotify release kept it accessible. Dottie West covered it for her 1978 album Dottie, and other covers include Billie Jo Spears (1980) and Waldemar Matuška (1977), per SecondHandSongs.
Larry Wayne Gatlin, born May 2, 1948, in Seminole, Texas, grew up in a musical family, performing with brothers Steve and Rudy since childhood. Influenced by country and Southern gospel, he moved to Nashville in 1971 with Dottie West’s support, initially singing background for Kris Kristofferson. Wikipedia notes his 33 Top 40 country singles and 2011 Country Music Hall of Fame nomination. “Broken Lady” was performed on Hee Haw in 1976 and at Gatlin’s 1977 Grand Ole Opry shows, with a YouTube clip capturing his emotive delivery. Reddit users on r/country in 2024 called it “a tearjerker that still resonates,” while an X post by @wcyofm in 2025 hailed it as a career-defining hit. Taste of Country writes: “It’s Gatlin at his lyrical peak, blending vulnerability with universal truth.”
The song’s creation coincided with the mid-1970s rise of countrypolitan, reflecting Nashville’s shift toward polished production. No major controversies surround it, though its emotional depth sparked discussions about gender roles in country music, per a 1976 Rolling Stone review: “Gatlin flips the damsel narrative, giving the woman agency in her pain.” It appeared in no major films but thrives on Spotify and Smule karaoke, with Shazam users tagging its haunting melody. “Broken Lady” remains a timeless showcase of Gatlin’s songwriting and vocal prowess, cementing his legacy in country music.
Video
Lyric
She’s a broken lady, waiting to be mended
Like a potter would mend a broken vase
A broken lady, waiting to be mended
And have what’s left of the pieces put back in placeHer love is like a fortress around a man she would have died for
Taking care to take of all he needed
But the lady’s fortress slowly turned into a prison
And the warning signs he gave, she never heededShe vowed every morning that what God joined together
No one else in the world could pull apart
Then the walls came tumbling to the ground
And her world came crashing down around her heartNow she’s a broken lady, waiting to be mended
Like a potter would mend a broken vase
A broken lady, waiting to be mended
And have what’s left of the pieces put back in place