Introduction
Country music is full of stories about broken hearts and dusty highways—but few songs have traveled as far, or left a mark as deep, as George Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning.” Yet what most fans don’t realize is that this timeless anthem of the American cowboy almost slipped through history’s fingers.
When Strait recorded it back in 1982, no one in Nashville believed the quiet, fiddle-driven ballad would change the course of his career. Radio executives dismissed it as “too slow” and “too regional.” But Strait—then just a rising voice in the Texas honky-tonk scene—trusted his instincts. He knew the song wasn’t just about a rodeo rider chasing his next chance; it was about every working man and woman who ever lost everything yet still woke up ready to fight another day.
Against all odds, “Amarillo By Morning” stormed its way into country music history. It never even hit #1 on the charts, yet fans declared it a masterpiece—one of those rare songs that seem to define a way of life. Decades later, critics still call it the greatest country song ever written.
The irony? George Strait himself admits he never imagined it would become his signature song, the one fans beg for at every concert, the one that cements his place as the “King of Country.”
This is not just a track on a record—it’s a cultural landmark. A song that defied Nashville’s rules, silenced the doubters, and proved that sometimes the quietest stories echo the loudest across generations.
So the next time you hear “Amarillo By Morning”, don’t just sing along. Remember: you’re listening to the song that nearly never was—the song that made George Strait a legend forever.
Video
Lyrics
Amarillo by mornin’
Up from San Antone
Everything that I got
Is just what I’ve got on
When that Sun is high
In that Texas sky
I’ll be buckin’ at the county fair
Amarillo by mornin’
Amarillo I’ll be there
They took my saddle in Houston
Broke my leg in Santa Fe
Lost my wife and a girlfriend
Somewhere along the way
But I’ll be lookin’ for eight
When they pull that gate
And I hope that
Judge ain’t blind
Amarillo by mornin’
Amarillo’s on my mind
Amarillo by mornin’
Up from San Antone
Everything that I got
Is just what I’ve got on
I ain’t got a dime
But what I’ve got is mine
I ain’t rich
But Lord, I’m free
Amarillo by mornin’
Amarillo’s where I’ll be
Amarillo by mornin’
Amarillo’s where I’ll be
