Lefty Frizzell – I Was Coming Home to You

About The Song

On January 22, 1964 Lefty Frizzell entered Columbia Recording Studio at 804 16th Avenue South in Nashville for an evening session that ran from 6:00 p.m. until after midnight. Produced by Don Law and Frank Jones, the date featured top Nashville sidemen including Grady Martin on lead guitar, Harold Bradley and Ray Edenton on rhythm guitars, Joseph Zinkan on bass, Buddy Harman on drums, Floyd Cramer on piano, and The Jordanaires on background vocals. Among the tracks cut that night was “I Was Coming Home to You,” a two-minute-and-seventeen-second album piece written by Kendall Hayes and Jimmy Rule. It appeared as track ten on the LP *Saginaw, Michigan*, released by Columbia in April 1964 under catalog numbers CL-2169 (mono) and CS-8969 (stereo).

The song had already been recorded earlier by Bobby Bare, who released his version as a single in September 1964. Lefty’s take, however, reached listeners first through the album and became the version many traditional fans preferred. Hayes and Rule had crafted a classic honky-tonk “excuse” narrative that fit comfortably alongside the storytelling style Frizzell had pioneered in the early 1950s. By 1964 the singer was no longer scoring regular number-one hits, yet he still commanded respect in the studio and delivered material with the same relaxed authority that had defined his career.

At its heart the track unfolds as a tongue-in-cheek explanation from a man who has clearly been delayed on his way home. He stops at a tavern for “just one drink—well, maybe two,” then notices a woman heading in the same direction. He offers her a ride, they have a minor accident, and the whole evening spirals into a series of small misadventures. Throughout the verses he keeps repeating the title line with a mix of guilt and good humor, insisting that despite everything, his true destination never changed. The light-hearted delivery turns what could have been a confession of wrongdoing into a charming, relatable slice of everyday domestic drama.

Frizzell sang the number with the smooth, slightly slurred phrasing and signature vocal slides that remained his trademark. The arrangement kept things swinging with crisp guitar lines and steady rhythm, allowing Lefty’s conversational style to carry the story. The Jordanaires added subtle harmony that gave the chorus an extra lift without overpowering the intimate feel. The song sat comfortably on an album that also contained the chart-topping title track “Saginaw, Michigan,” showing Frizzell’s continued ability to blend humor, regret, and honesty in equal measure.

Although “I Was Coming Home to You” was never issued as a single and did not appear on the Billboard charts, it earned a place among fans who appreciated Lefty’s later Columbia work. The track later surfaced on comprehensive reissues including Bear Family’s *An Article from Life* box set and various Columbia/Legacy compilations. Its inclusion alongside stronger commercial cuts from the same period helped preserve a side of Frizzell’s catalog that balanced the serious and the playful.

More than sixty years after that long Nashville session, “I Was Coming Home to You” remains a quiet favorite among listeners who enjoy classic country storytelling. What began as one of several songs cut in a single evening became another example of Lefty Frizzell’s skill at turning ordinary excuses and small-town temptations into enduring art. The record captures him in mid-career form, still able to make a simple tale of a man trying to explain himself sound both believable and entertaining.

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Lyric

I just stopped off for a quick one at the tavern
Just a drink, well, maybe I had two
But I swore as I sit down at her table

That darling, I was coming home to you

Can’t I help it, if she was going my way?
And we talked about old times we used to know
But I’m sure we had the green light at the corner
Anyone who saw the wreck will tell you so
I was only going to drop her off at her place

And then darling, I was coming home to you

When you came, you saw her lying there beside me
But believe me, dear, that old romance is through
And even though you saw her arms around me
Darling, I was coming home to you

Oh yes, darling, I was coming home to you