[4] The song is sung from the point of view of a rodeo cowboy, driving at night from San Antonio to a county fair in Amarillo, that will begin the following morning.
The man recounts the hardships his occupation has caused him, including divorce, broken bones, and poverty, but states that he does not regret his lifestyle: "I ain't rich/ But Lord, I'm free."
[14][3] This cover woke up Rick Husband while he piloted the STS-96 scientific space mission,[15] and was played for the entire crew during STS-114[16] in honor of the Amarillo-born astronaut.
[19] Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song an A grade, saying that he has "finally found his niche as a performer."
He traded his soundtrack to "Amarillo by Morning" for a duet that Kelly had recorded in Nashville with Janie Fricke and no money changed hands.
Country music singer John Rich covered the song from the television special George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert.
[26] A 2003 survey of tourism-related officials by Development Counsellors International named "Amarillo by Morning" the 7th-best song about a place.
[4] The song was parodied by hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards as "Obamacare by Morning", which mocked technical problems with that year's rollout of the federal HealthCare.gov website as part of the Affordable Care Act.