3S.“She Looked Up — and He Was Still Smiling.” At first, it was the smile that broke her — that calm, familiar grin she’d seen a thousand times. It didn’t fade with the years, and it didn’t fade now. For a moment, she almost forgot he was gone. When “Crying for Me” began to play, the tears came quietly — not from pain, but from recognition. Because she could feel it: he was still there. In the light, in the song, in the peace that wrapped the room like his arms used to. Some goodbyes aren’t meant to end. They just echo softer, every time the music starts.
There are songs that make you tap your feet. There are songs that get stuck in your head.
And then there are songs like this one — that sit quietly beside you and hold your heart for a while.
“Cryin’ for Me (Wayman’s Song)” isn’t just a tribute. It’s a deeply personal goodbye.
Written after the passing of Toby Keith’s close friend Wayman Tisdale — a former NBA star turned jazz musician — the song feels like an open letter that was never meant for the radio. It’s soft-spoken, but powerful. There’s no anger, no bitterness. Just love, sorrow, and the kind of grief that comes from losing someone who left too soon, but lived well.
The lyrics are honest and unpolished, as if Toby is speaking directly to his friend:
“I’m not cryin’ ‘cause I feel so sorry for you. I’m cryin’ for me.”
What really brings the song to life is the music itself — especially with Marcus Miller on bass and Dave Koz’s soulful saxophone wrapping around Toby’s voice like a warm memory. The blend of country and jazz doesn’t just work — it feels right. It captures the spirit of Wayman, who bridged those worlds so effortlessly in his own life.
If you’ve ever lost someone who made the room brighter just by walking in — you’ll understand this song immediately. It doesn’t shout its pain. It sits with it. Honors it. And lets it breathe.
It reminds us: sometimes the best way to say “I love you” is simply to say, “I miss you.”
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