Ray Price – Heartaches By The Number

Song written by Harland Howard, and recorded by Ray Price on January 29, 1959, for the Columbia label, was released on April 6, 1959, the song reached number two on the US country charts.

Throughout his career, Price was a talent search enthusiast and the leader of the band: Roger Miller, Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Bush and Willie Nelson were all in his band, the Cherokee Cowboys. Naturally, he was also one of the first to adopt the compositions of Nelson and Miller, and was one of the first to record hits from legends of composers such as Mel Tillis, Kris Kristofferson and the man behind “Heartaches by the Number”, Harlan Howard . Follow Ray’s voice here and the record is bitter and broken; focus on your band, playing what became known as Ray Price Beat, and it’s a party record, pure and simple. Take the voice and the sound at the same time, and you have a masterly example of telling your problems and then dancing on them.

Some versions:
Paul Rich 1960 (Embassy)
Kitty Wells 1961 (Decca)
George Jones 1961 (Mercury)
Buck Owens 1961 (Capitol)
Webb Pierce 1962 (Decca)
Harlan Howard 1965 (Monument)
Johnny Tillotson 1965 (MGM)
Willie Nelson 1966 (Columbia)
Waylon Jennings 1967 (RCA)
…and many more !!!

Ray Price – Heartaches By The Number Lyrics

Heartache number one was when you left me
I never knew that I could hurt this way
And heartache number two was when you come back again
You came back and never meant to stay

Now I’ve got heartaches by the numbers, troubles by the score
Every day you love me less, each day I love you more
Yes, I’ve got heartaches by the numbers, a love that I can’t win
But the day that I stop counting, that’s the day my world will end

Heartache number three was when you called me
And said that you was coming back to stay
With hopeful heart I waited for your knock on the door
I waited but you must have lost your way

Now I’ve got heartaches by the numbers, troubles by the score
Every day you love me less, each day I love you more
Yes, I’ve got heartaches by the numbers, a love that I can’t win
But the day that I stop counting, that’s the day my world will end