Remember Your Exes; 30 yrs ago, George Strait’s ‘All My Ex’s Live in Texas’ Hits No. 1

A lot of people would argue that George Strait’s most defining moment would be “Amarillo by Morning” and we could not agree more. There is just one simple thing that elevates this George Strait song, “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” that makes it stand out in its own way.

All My Ex’s Live in Texas, George Strait

“You can almost hear the guy smirking as he sings this swinging hit, running down a list of jilted lovers from all over the Lone Star state.”

Those were the exact words of Country Universe’s Kevin John Coyne as he shares his insight about “All My Ex’s Live in Texas.” It is in fact a country story of a narrator recalling past flames that live in the state of Texas while delivering a Western Swing as he progresses throughout the story.

This song has proven itself to affect culture as it was recorded in “Road House” as a soundtrack by its writer Sanger d Shafer, video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” and Rapper Drake mentioning the song in his single “HYFR”

There’s a lot of reasons why we need to celebrate and continuously celebrate King George and this is definitely one of them. One of the things that make it stand out is it’s way of telling a story of a confused narrator while adding metaphor to its hidden humor.

Now, sing with me while watching this video:

https://youtu.be/lMNw_-yUm_0

All my ex’s live in Texas (lyrics)

And Texas is the place I’d dearly love to be
But all my ex’s live in Texas
And that’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee

Rosanna’s down in Texarkana
Wanted me to push her broom
Sweet Eileen’s in Abilene
She forgot I hung the moon
And Allison’s in Galveston
Somehow lost her sanity
And Dimple’s who now lives in Temple’s
Got the law looking for me

All my ex’s live in Texas
And Texas is the place I’d dearly love to be
But all my ex’s live in Texas
And that’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee

I remember that old Frio River
Where I learned to swim
But it brings to mind another time
Where I wore my welcome thin
By transcendental meditation
I go there each night
But I always come back to myself
Long before daylight

All my ex’s live in Texas
And Texas is the place I’d dearly love to be
But all my ex’s live in Texas
Therefore I reside in Tennessee

Some folks think I’m hidin’
It’s been rumored that I died
But I’m alive and well in Tennessee