I will never get tired of hearing Cole Chaney cover Keith Whitley.
We’ve heard him do Keith’s heartbreaker, “I’m Over You” before, and today, he’s doing his own rendition of “Tell Lorrie I Love Her” with Abby Hamilton.
Keith originally wrote and recorded the song at home for his wife and fellow country singer, Lorrie Morgan. He’d written it for his friend, Curtis Young, to sing on Keith and Lorrie’s wedding day.
It was only released posthumously on his Greatest Hits album, and of course, became an instant classic thereafter.
In her 1997 book, Forever Yours Faithfully: My Love Story, which was about her relationship and marriage to Keith, Lorrie noted that she listened to this song repeatedly on her way to his funeral. Keith tragically passed away at the young age of 33 from alcohol poisoning, and he had struggled with alcoholism since he was a teenager.
It’s incredibly sad to think back on now when you hear the lyrics he wrote, and knowing that he put his unconditional love for her into a such a beautiful song just about brings a tear to your eye:
Without a drink of water around
With my knees and hands in the white scorching sands
With the hot Sahara sun beating down
If I could be granted my wishes
And anything I want would come true
Well, I know that it might sound funny
But here’s what I want you to do
Tell Lorrie I need her
Tell her everything would be okay
If I could just see her
Tell Lorrie I love her
Tell Lorrie I need her
And if I leave this old world
Tell her she’s the only girl for me”
And like we’ve said before, y’all need to be listening to all of Cole’s original music, too, if you aren’t already. Mercy is hands down one of the best albums to drop this year.
A native of Kentucky, he’s gonna be the next big thing out of Appalachia.
“Tell Lorrie I Love Her – Keith Whitley. With Abby Hamilton. Been feeling Keith lately.”
And the original:
