 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2014) |
| "Long Black Veil" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Lefty Frizzell | ||||
| B-side | "When It Rains the Blues" | |||
| Released | April 20, 1959 (US) | |||
| Recorded | March 3, 1959 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:05 | |||
| Label | Columbia 4-41384 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Marijohn Wilkin, Danny Dill | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Law | |||
| Lefty Frizzell singles chronology | ||||
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"Long Black Veil" is a 1959 country ballad, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell.
It is told from the point of view of a man falsely accused of murder and executed. He refuses to provide an alibi, since on the night of the murder he was having an extramarital affair with his best friend's wife, and would rather die and take their secret to his grave than admit the truth. The chorus describes the woman's mourning visits to his gravesite, wearing a long black veil and enduring a wailing wind.
In 2019, Frizzell's version of "Long Black Veil" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1]
- ^ Andrews, Travis M. (March 20, 2019). "Jay-Z, a speech by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and 'Schoolhouse Rock!' among recordings deemed classics by Library of Congress". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2019.