About the Song
In a career filled with outlaw swagger and rough-edged poetry, Waylon Jennings always had a knack for capturing the quiet ache beneath the rebellion. Nowhere is that more evident than in “Lookin’ for a Feeling,” a hidden gem from his 1978 collaborative album with Willie Nelson, simply titled Waylon & Willie. While the record is best known for hits like “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” it’s this soul-searching ballad that reveals the beating heart behind the outlaw mask.
“Lookin’ for a Feeling” finds Waylon not chasing women, money, or fame — but chasing something far more elusive: a feeling he can’t quite name, a sense of connection that’s always just out of reach.
“I keep lookin’ for a feelin’ I had once before / I keep lookin’ for the feelin’ I lost somewhere.”
With these opening lines, Jennings sets the tone for a song steeped in longing, memory, and quiet desperation. It’s not melodramatic. It’s not grandiose. It’s real — the kind of restlessness that creeps in when the spotlight dims and the road winds on.
Musically, the song leans into Jennings’ signature sound — deep, steady rhythm guitars, a subtle but driving beat, and his warm, worn-down baritone voice. There’s a melancholy woven into the instrumentation, echoing the themes of spiritual hunger and the haunting realization that no amount of success can fill certain voids.
In many ways, “Lookin’ for a Feeling” speaks to a broader truth about the human condition, especially for those who’ve lived fast and seen it all. Even cowboys, even legends like Waylon Jennings, aren’t immune to the ghosts of past joys, the quiet regrets, or the emptiness that sometimes follows the high.
This track might not have been a radio hit, but it’s a lyrical photograph of a man in search of himself — stripped of bravado, stripped of pretense. It’s Jennings doing what he always did best: telling the truth in a way that’s simple, raw, and unforgettable.