Be Careful of Stones that You Throw
"Be Careful of Stones that You Throw" is a song recorded by Hank Williams. It was written by Bonnie Dodd.
| "Be Careful of Stones that You Throw" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Hank Williams aka Luke the Drifter | |
| Released | 1952 |
| Recorded | July 11, 1952, Nashville |
| Genre | Country |
| Length | 2:57 |
| Label | MGM |
| Songwriter(s) | Bonnie Dodd |
| Producer(s) | Fred Rose |
Background
Bonnie Dodd was a steel guitar player who wrote Tex Ritter's 1945 hit "You Will Have to Pay" and had been recording herself since 1937.[1] The cautionary "Be Careful of Stones that You Throw" was very much in the tradition of moralizing recitations that Williams was releasing under the Luke the Drifter name; the song recounts the heroic act of a young lady who is killed while saving a child from a passing car, the same child whose mother had previously ostracized her. It was recorded at Castle Studio in Nashville with Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), and Harold Bradley (rhythm guitar), while it is speculated that Chet Atkins played lead guitar and Ernie Newton played bass.[2]
Cover versions
- Red Sovine covered the song for Deluxe.
- Porter Wagoner recorded the song for RCA.
- Dion recorded the song for Columbia.
- Hank Williams, Jr. cut the song as Luke the Drifter, Jr. for MGM.
- Bob Dylan and the Band recorded the song in 1967, as can be heard on The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.
- David Allan Coe included it on his 1997 LP The Ghost of Hank Williams.
The song was first recorded by Little Jimmie Dickens on Columbia on October 14, 1949 and got more airplay here in Nova Scotia than the other versions. It can be heard on YouTube.<ref> Dickens Columbia discography.
Discography
References
- Escott, Colin 2004, p. 345.
- Escott, Colin 2004, p. 347.