First recorded by Elton Britt in 1946, then made more popular by Roy Acuff in 1947, the song has been covered by many artists, including Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Russell, Charley Pride, and Elvis Presley.

The version by Willie Nelson, recorded for his 1975 concept album Red Headed Stranger, which was about a fugitive preacher on the run from the law after killing his wife, was lauded by country music historian Bill Malone as "a fine example of clean, uncluttered country music, [with] a spare arrangement that could have come straight out of the 1940s.

"[1] Rolling Stone noted the song was delivered with his "jazz-style phrasing" and was "the beating heart of Red Headed Stranger.

As a performer, meanwhile, Nelson had hit the top 10 of the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart just twice; it had happened in 1962, once as a solo artist ("Touch Me") and again as part of a duet with Shirley Collie ("Willingly").

1 hit as a singer, and at year's end, was the third-biggest song of 1975 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.