TIFS Song of the Day: 'The Tennessee Waltz' -Pattie Page - 1950

"Tennessee Waltz" is a popular country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948.

The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" – by Patti Page. Up until the late Seventies, it was the biggest-selling song ever in Japan.

All versions of the lyrics narrate a situation in which the persona has introduced his or her sweetheart to a friend who then waltzes away with her or him. The lyrics are altered for pronoun gender on the basis of the gender of the singer. The song is self-referential, in that it is a song about itself.

The popularity of "Tennessee Waltz" also made it the fourth official song of the state of Tennessee in 1965.

David Bromberg includes a live version on his 1972 album, Demon in Disguise on Columbia Records.