
Some songs don’t just play — they drift through the air like memories. “Amarillo By Morning” is one of those songs. It’s simple, pure, and so unmistakably George Strait that it feels less like a recording and more like a quiet moment on the open road — windows down, sun rising, and the world just waking up.
Originally written by Terry Stafford and Paul Fraser in 1973, the song found its true home a decade later when George Strait recorded it for his 1982 album Strait from the Heart. The lyrics follow a rodeo cowboy chasing his next town, his next chance — knowing full well that life on the road means losing a little something each time he leaves. But there’s no bitterness here, no self-pity. Just acceptance. That quiet strength that defines both the cowboy and the man singing about him.
George doesn’t oversing it — he never does. His voice rides the melody like a seasoned horseman, steady and calm, letting the story do the talking. When he sings, “I ain’t rich, but Lord, I’m free,” it feels like a prayer whispered to the morning sky — a reminder that freedom, even when it comes with loneliness, is still something sacred.
What makes “Amarillo By Morning” timeless isn’t just the beauty of its melody — it’s the honesty of its spirit. It’s about resilience, about getting up after every fall, and about finding peace in the in-between moments. The road, the dust, the ache — they all become part of the same beautiful rhythm.
For George Strait, this song isn’t just a hit — it’s an identity. It captures everything that makes him who he is: humble, grounded, and true to the heart of country music.
And maybe that’s why, even decades later, when that fiddle intro starts to play, the world seems to slow down for just a minute — long enough for every listener to feel the pull of home, the road, and the horizon all at once.
Video
Lyrics
Amarillo by mornin’
Up from San Antone
Everything that I got
Is just what I’ve got on
When that Sun is high
In that Texas sky
I’ll be buckin’ at the county fair
Amarillo by mornin’
Amarillo I’ll be there
They took my saddle in Houston
Broke my leg in Santa Fe
Lost my wife and a girlfriend
Somewhere along the way
But I’ll be lookin’ for eight
When they pull that gate
And I hope that
Judge ain’t blind
Amarillo by mornin’
Amarillo’s on my mind
Amarillo by mornin’
Up from San Antone
Everything that I got
Is just what I’ve got on
I ain’t got a dime
But what I’ve got is mine
I ain’t rich
But Lord, I’m free
Amarillo by mornin’
Amarillo’s where I’ll be
Amarillo by mornin’
Amarillo’s where I’ll be
