HH. Waylon Jennings was barreling down a Texas highway in the late ’70s, wind whipping through the open window of his tour bus, the weight of Nashville’s chains still chafing at his neck. He’d fought tooth and nail to break free from the suits who wanted him polished and predictable, embracing the raw edge of his Texas roots with a fire that scared the establishment. One dusty afternoon, with the sun beating down like a judge’s gavel, Waylon started musing on his wild path—the pills, the parties, the loves that burned hot and fast. He wasn’t apologizing; he was owning it, a man who’d always danced to his own beat, consequences be damned. With his guitar across his lap, he let those reflections turn into lyrics that felt like a middle finger to the world, his voice already growling with that unfiltered swagger. It was Waylon’s truth, a declaration of living loud and unbowed, no matter the cost. When it hit in ‘78, it became a battle cry for every renegade who’d ever bucked the system.
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About The Song
In 1978, Waylon Jennings set his sixth No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart as a solo artist when he released “I’ve Always Been Crazy” – the first single and title track from his 1978 album. By the time the record was released, the title had already spent three weeks on the top of the country chart – where it had remained for three weeks, spending a total of thirteen weeks.
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Written by Waylon Jennings himself, “I’ve Always Been Crazy” was like his personal declaration – proclaiming that it was never his intention to hurt any person, at the same time admitting that being silly has all this time protecting him from going totally insane.
The Luckenbach, Texas singer further revealed that the song began as a bit of a waltz. However, during the recording, Jennings flicked through his stash of drugs and had himself absolutely messed up – he ended up recording it as an upbeat, up-tempo rocker. As a result, the song came out absolutely different than what it’s supposed to be, but Jennings believed it’s one of the reasons why it became such a big hit!
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And despite being high on drugs, Jennings was still able to come up with some deep and thoughtful lyrics in the song’s new version. This includes his all-time favorite line among all he has ever penned – “I’ve never intentionally hurt anyone.”
However, one person might beg to disagree – and that’s Jennings’ trumpet player. Before the song was edited, the original track was actually more than eight minutes long. Jennings had the poor man play all the way through that his lips were terribly swollen after the session. The trumpet player left the studio, and Jennings never saw him again. And what’s even worse is that after all his hard work, only a few seconds of it was used on the record.
Video
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Lyrics
I’ve always been crazy and the trouble that it’s put me through
Been busted for things that I did and I didn’t do
I can’t say I’m proud of all of the things that I’ve done
But I can say I’ve never intentionally hurt anyone
I’ve always been different with one foot over the line
Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind
It ain’t been so easy but I guess I shouldn’t complain
I’ve always been crazy but it’s kept me from going insane
Beautiful lady, are you sure that you understand
The chances your taking loving a free living man
Are you really sure, you really want what you see
Be careful of something that’s just what you want it to be
I’ve always been crazy but it’s kept me from going insane
Nobody knows if it’s something to bless or to blame
So far I ain’t found a rhyme or a reason to change
I’ve always been crazy but it’s kept me from going insane
