Bob Wills – Bubbles in My Beer, is a Western swing song that was originally recorded by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys in 1947. It later became a standard that has been performed by many country music artists. One critic of drinking songs ranks it number 20, calls it “the ultimate self-pity song,” and credits it with “setting the tone for a whole genre of songs about drowning sorrows in the barroom.”
The song’s origins are the subject of different accounts (see Tommy Duncan for one); but there is agreement that Texas Playboys vocalist Duncan came up with the song’s title and refrain, at which point songwriter Cindy Walker became involved. Walker has been quoted as saying: “If you can get a real good title, you’ve got something. I always write from the title. I’ve never written a song without the title.”
Bob Wills – Bubbles in My Beer
Single by Bob Wills
B-side “Spanish Fandango”
Released December 8, 1947
Recorded October 30, 1947
Genre Western swing
Label MGM Records 10116
Songwriter(s) T. Duncan, C. Walker, B. Wills
COUNTRYPEDIA
Bob Wills – Bubbles in My Beer Lyrics
Tonight in a bar alone I’m sitting
Apart from the laughter and the cheers
While scenes from the past rise before me
Just watchin’ the bubbles in my beer
A vision of someone who loved me
Brings a lone silent tear to my eye
Oh, I know that my life’s been a failure
Just watchin’ the bubbles in my beer
I’m seeing the road that I’ve traveled
A road paved with heartaches and tears
And I’m seeing the past that I’ve wasted
While watchin’ the bubbles in my beer
As I think of the heart that I’ve broken
And all the golden chances that have passed me by
And the dreams that I’ve made, now are empty
As empty as the bubbles in my beer
GENIUS
