“My Woman, My Woman, My Wife”
Marty Robbins
Written by Marty Robbins
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
May 2, 1970
I’ll come right out and say that this is the best country record ever about a man’s love for his wife.
It’s also the best Marty Robbins hit of the decade, and quite possibly his entire career. It works so well because Robbins has an innate understanding of drama. His powerful, booming voice was always well calibrated to the material, the best of which was often written by him.
This record sets a high bar with a bombastic vocal performance, dramatic strings, and flowery praise that would read as over the top if he didn’t justify all of it with one of the most devastating bridges I’ve ever heard:
Two little babies were born in the springBut died when the winter was newI lost control of my mind and my soulBut my woman’s faith carried us through
By the end of the record, I was ready to give up my piece of heaven on behalf of this extraordinary woman who only exists in this song.
There are going to be so many classic records during this decade that are simply undeniable, where words are barely enough to capture their significance and artistic worth. This is one of the very best of them.
“My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” gets an A.
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The first Marty Robbins cd I owned was “16 Biggest Hits” and I loved this song. Upon listening to so many country artists from 60’s onward I noticed how much influence Marty had on peoples phrasing and singing. This isn’t just in the country field either as I noticed it in a some pop artists as well. He was a phenomenal vocalist who can switch genres and themes flawlessly. In my opinion he is one of the greatest vocalists to step to the microphone in country music.
I’ll go even a touch further than Tyler. In terms of technical ability and tone, Marty Robbins is the singular greatest vocalist in country music history, with only Patsy Cline rivaling him. In the hands of almost any other artist, this song would be too bombastic. But with Marty, it’s a deserving classic.
I only had the vaguest familiarity with this song before this morning’s listen so I’ll withhold giving a grade but damn that was a powerful ode, both vocally and lyrically. I’m loathe to wish I was 10 years older but it sure would have been nice to come of age with some of the great country music of the 70s, which this feature will help plug some of the holes for.
I know you say that this is the best country record ever about a man’s love for his wife, but be honest. Dylan Scott’s “My Girl” has gotta be neck and neck with it right?
Marty was probably the most versatile vocalist the genre ever saw. I suspect if rock & roll hadn’t wiped out the classic pop market, that Marty would have sought a career more in line with the careers of Sinatra, Martin, Bennett, Cole, Como and other pop crooners.
Probably my favorite Robbins songs were “Begging To You”, “Big Iron”, “El Paso” and “Twentieth Century Drifter” but Marty could sing anything and everything and sing it extremely well, as this over-the-top proves.
This song was covered many times as album tracks and the only cover that I ever liked was by Dean Martin. I do love Marty’s recording – a worthy “A”
This is one of those songs of Marty’s that had a significant appeal even beyond the country audience, just narrowly missing the Top 40 on the Hot 100 during that tumultuous time. One could argue that it is, along with “El Paso”, his signature song.
Bonus Beats:
It might make sense to mention Dean Martin’s version, released as the title track of his 1970 album of covers of recent country hits. But I’m not gonna link that, because Dino sounds extremely lethargic on it, in stark contrast to Robbins’s vocals. So instead, here’s the version of “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” that the soul singer Joe Simon recorded for his 1971 album The Sounds of Simon:
https://youtu.be/GGRueFRbnws
A classic in every sense of the word. I was worried younger folk ( I was 6 when this was number 1) would think this as too sappy,but, am loving the respect for such a great song and singer. Thank you, Kevin.
I love being grouped with the younger folks!
Lyrically, Robbins honours all the pillars of country songwriting: faith, suffering, hard work, uphill battles, disappointment, despair, and love. As a vocalist, Mr. Teardrop, makes us feel each and every one. He was without peer for the sincerity of his outrageous emotive powers as a singer.
As for his versatility, he sounded great singing rock and roll with “Rock’n Roll’n Robbins,” as a crooner on “Marty After Midnight,” as a cowboy on “Gunfighter Ballads” or all the above on one album like “The Song of Robbins.”.
I always felt the song “listened” like a Bible story, everything about it was epic.