Our final classic sad song of the day during this week of incredibly sad songs is “Where’ve You Been” by Kathy Mattea. It was released in November of 1989 and rose to #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart early in 1990.
Like yesterday’s classic song of the day, John Prine’s “Hello in There,” “Where’ve You Been” is a song about growing old. The song relates several episodes over the years where Claire, the wife, has waited for her husband Edwin, always ending with the lines:
Where’ve you been?
I’ve looked for you forever and a day.
Where’ve you been?
I’m just not myself when you’re away
In the first verse, she’s been waiting to finally meet the person she’d fall in love with. In the second verse, she’s been waiting through a storm for her husband, a salesman, to finally come home. Then, in the third verse, sixty years have passed. They’re both in the hospital, “in separate beds on different floors.” Claire has lost her memory, never spoke a word again, until they wheeled in Edwin. That’s when she comes back to life, just for a moment, reciting in a fragile voice the words of the chorus, “Where’ve you been? I’ve looked for you forever and a day…”
I’m a sucker for songs like this that deliberately tug on your heart strings. Apparently others are too; “Where’ve You Been” won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1990, and Kathy Mattea won for Best Country Performance, Female. Both wins were well deserved.
“Where’ve You Been” was written by Ms. Mattea’s husband, Jon Vezner, along with Don Henry. They wrote several other hits for Ms. Mattea, including “A Few Good Things Remain” and “Time Passes By.” Kathy originally balked at recording “Where’ve You Been,” saying it would be too difficult for her to sing in concert without crying. Well, yeah; it’s that kind of song.
Kathy Mattea was a big deal in the country music world in the late ’80s and early ’90s, which was a particularly fertile period for really good country music—nothing like the bros and beers formulaic lowest common denominator country songs of the past few years. Ms. Mattea scored 16 top ten country hits from 1986 to 1994, including the #1 hits “Goin’ Gone,” “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” “Come from the Heart,” and “Burnin’ Old Memories.” She continues to record and perform today and, while she’s no longer Nashville’s flavor of the week, her voice and her work have only deepened with time.
As an aside, my wife and I caught Ms. Mattea in concert a few years back. It was a terrific show, she’s a captivating and earnest presence on stage, and her music continues to blend traditional and contemporary sounds, now with a bit of bluegrass thrown in for good measure. And, believe it or not, she’s a year younger than I am. Good for both of us.
