Waylon Jennings Reminds Why He’s a ‘Ramblin’ Man’ in Performance

If Waylon Jennings’ outlaw opus was his album Honky Tonk Heroes, then “(I’m A) Ramblin’ Man” on The Ramblin’ Man was his trademark outlaw warning.

What Waylon Jennings did with outlaw country was something remarkable. He not only sang about it, but he also lived it — heavy and hard. His songs are so truthful and gritty because they come from real experiences. Such is the case of “(I’m A) Ramblin’ Man” from his 1974 album, The Ramblin’ Man.

In this video clip, we see a brighter side of Waylon Jennings in this excellent vintage footage of him performing his outlaw warning.

Though Jennings didn’t write the song himself (Ray Pennington penned it instead), the lyrics reflect everything about Jennings that was so decidedly outlaw in the 1970s when the song hit airways.

This seems like his ode to breaking hearts across the country in one suitable apology summed up only by the phrase, “I’m a ramblin’ man.” I mean, if Waylon was apologizing to you for being an outlaw, would there be a more fitting explanation?

Watching Jennings play around with this tune is awesome to see. Any time we find an old clip of one our favorite artists enjoying their music, it’s always a winner in our book.