About the Song
There are songs that linger like perfume on a breeze — fleeting, romantic, and impossible to forget. “I Recall a Gypsy Woman” is one of those rare songs, and in the weathered voice of Waylon Jennings, it takes on a life all its own. Originally written by Bob McDill and Allen Reynolds, the track was first recorded by Don Williams in the early 1970s, but Waylon’s interpretation — filled with grit, wanderlust, and quiet longing — gives it a whole new dimension.
Though Waylon Jennings didn’t officially release this song on a major solo studio album during his early peak years, his rendition would become well-known through live recordings and compilation features, where it stood out not for its force, but for its atmosphere. The lyrics unfold like a memory: vivid, sensory, and colored by the haze of time. A chance encounter with a mysterious woman — brief, beautiful, and life-changing — becomes a ghost that follows the narrator through every quiet moment afterward.
Waylon’s voice, worn and deep with experience, is perfectly suited for this kind of nostalgic storytelling. He doesn’t embellish or dramatize — he just tells the tale as if he’s lived it. His delivery carries the ache of lost time and the unspoken truths that come with it. Every phrase feels lived-in, as if he’s not singing about a gypsy woman, but to her.
Musically, the song is subtle and haunting. A soft acoustic guitar leads the way, with gentle rhythm and just enough instrumentation to let the story breathe. There’s a hint of sadness, but also of romantic resignation — that some people come into our lives not to stay, but to leave a mark.
In the hands of Waylon Jennings, “I Recall a Gypsy Woman” becomes more than just a song about a lost love. It becomes a reflection on the fragility of connection, the way certain faces stay in our minds long after they’ve vanished from our lives. It’s quiet, poetic, and beautifully unresolved — much like memory itself.