"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a 1949 country ballad written and recorded by Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys. It was recorded on August 30, 1949 at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati and released on November 8, 1949 by MGM as the B-side to "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It." The tune blends hillbilly and honky-tonk styles, lasts 2 minutes 48 seconds, and helped define Williams's stark, direct lyricism. There is a noted controversy about lyric authorship with claims that Paul Gilley wrote the words, though this is not widely accepted. It peaked at number four on the country chart in 1949 and is widely regarded as a classic, ranking on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and among the 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. It has been covered by many artists, including Johnny Cash and the version by B. J. Thomas and the Triumphs that reached the Top 10 in the US in 1966.
